House of Tarot Cards
by VinzClortho
Summary: The gang decides to run for student council in order to fight student government corruption. Yuu is determined to win the position of Student Council President, but how far will he go win? Politics proves to be a dirty game! Mystery! Intrigue! Romance! Inspired by Netflix' original series 'House of Cards.'
1. Democracy Inaction

"Seriously?! This is the third one this week! Why do these clubs keep getting cancelled?!" Yosuke was aghast as his eyes crawled over the poster in the school lobby. It read:

TAEKWONDO CLUB WILL NOT BE ESTABLISHED THIS YEAR.

"Well don't act like it matters to you!" Chie chirped. "Your name wasn't even on the registration list! I would know, because I actually signed up! I have a reason to be upset!" She shook her head, displaying her frustration.

Yosuke shot a wounded look at his friend. "Hey! I put my name down for the astronomy club and student newspaper, and they axed both of those too! It's not like this trend hasn't effected me too!"

Chie rolled her eyes. "The only reason you signed up for those was because most of the names on the list were girls! And don't try to deny that!" she said slowly to emphasize that Yosuke was not fooling anyone.

"Who's denying it?! If anything, it makes this even more tragic for me!" Yosuke wiped an imaginary tear from his cheek and looked to the ceiling.

"…..There are no words….." Chie whispered to herself.

Yosuke adopted a more serious posture. "Well we can both agree to this; this nonsense has got to stop! Student Council is supposed to be sponsoring these clubs and running them. Why are they even bothering to make signup sheets if they're gonna cancel every freakin' one! We all paid student fees at the beginning of the year to set up these freakin' clubs! " he exclaimed.

Chie smirked and placed her hands along her hips. "Ya, I remember, you made a big scene about having to pay the $150 student fee. We couldn't even start class that morning because you made such a protest!"

Yosuke shrugged and raised his arms into the air. "Well _some people_ had to pay for that out of their _own pocket_! Since I started working, my parents have cut off the gravy train!"

"Calm down! Let's leave the past in the past, I didn't think mentioning it would get you into such a tizzy…sorry…."

"…It's okay." He breathed in and then exhaled deeply.

"Anyway, back on subject! Just what the hell are we gonna do about this?" asked Chie.

"Let's go see the student council" Yosuke suggested.

"I just wanted to join the film club..," said Yuu, who was standing alongside his friends but had been careful not to get involved in their bickering. He did however think to himself that his two friends were destined to end up together. Still in their teens, their banter reminded him of an old married couple.

* * *

"You're telling me that the student council doesn't have the money to get these clubs going?!" Chie asked, the volume of her voice rising higher and higher with each word.

The group had entered the student council room, which had been set up in a room on the second floor. The room was well furnished, but the student council was not present, save one member.

"In essence, yes," confirmed the lone student council representative, a male student whose name nobody in the group knew.

Chie raised her eyebrows. "How the hell is that possible? There are what, like, one hundred and fifty students in this school, and each one paid $150 bucks at the beginning of the year for student fees, so in total that's…so that's….that's….um…. how much is that Yosuke?" She asked, stuttering over her words.

"Um…just a sec, let me see." Yosuke began counting his fingers.

"$22,500" Yuu said robotically, breaking his silence.

Chie fired a determined look back at the council representative "Yeah! You can buy a car for that price! How are you gonna stand there and tell me that you don't have enough money?!"

"Finances can be very complicated. I'd rather not try to explain it to you," the rep replied.

She gritted her teeth and the blood rushed through her veins, making her face deep red. "Are you trying to imply that I wouldn't be able to understand!?." Her eyes widened as a tense silence fell.

"Well, your reputation precedes you. One cannot kick their way through finances," the unnamed student replied with a meek smirk.

Chie's mouth hung open, but she was unable to form any words. She let out a quiet gasp instead.

Yosuke stepped forward and stood straight, making himself appear bigger than normal. "Listen dude, I don't know why you think you've got the right to put on that holier than thou attitude, but you've gotta do two things. First, you've got to apologize to my friend. And second, you've got to explain exactly why that money isn't being put to use!' Only Yuu noticed Chie blush and her eyes sparkle with gratitude as Yoskue defended her.

"Fine, sorry, whatever. As for the second point, the money is being used for the benefit of the student body," he responded.

"Why do I find that so hard to believe?" Chie piped.

The council rep looked toward Chie. "Frankly, I don't care if you believe it or not. If you're so concerned about it, why don't you run for student council and see for yourself?"

"Run for student council?!" Chie and Yosuke asked together.

"I really don't care one way or the other what you do. But if it will keep you from bothering me while I have important things to do, you can nominate yourselves as the elections for next semester are coming up. I'm sure you've seen the posters around school. There president, vice president and treasurer are three of the more notable positions open to challengers."

"Yeah…I did see those," Chie recalled.

"Well then, do what you will, now if you'll excuse me," the mystery boy said as he disappeared out the door.

"So what are we gonna do! We've got to get elected right?!" Chie was beaming with excitement. New challenges usually got her heart pumping. The trio decided to reassemble on the roof of the school to contemplate what to do.

"Do you really want to do that? I mean geez, that will take a lot of your time" Yosuke asked, displaying the pragmatism that his female friend sometimes lacked.

"Well one of us should at least run for president of we are gonna get back at that jerk!," She fumed.

"Don't take it so personal. You know that is your biggest weakness right?" he said with a friendly grin.

"So what! We need to do this!" It was becoming clear that she was adamant. Turning away was not an option for the Investigation Team.

"Well, who should run for president? I'm not sure I can sacrifice that much time. I've got a job. And no offense, but do you think you're going to get people to vote for you if you keep exploding like that, Chie?"

"…Point taken" she answered back, blushing.

The idea hit both of them at the same time. As their eyes locked, they knew they'd reached the same conclusion. Their heads turned to their quiet friend in unison.

"Heeeyyyyyyy," Chie chimed. "How about you, Yuu?"

He remained silent

"I think you'd be the best choice among us! You're charming and handsome and well spoken without being wordy. You're a natural leader too! All the things you need to succeed in politics!" Chie explained with a wide smile as she grabbed his hand pleadingly. "Will you do it?"

"Oohhhhh. So the truth comes out! You think he's handsome! Oh, that's adorable!" Yosuke quipped teasingly. He rarely passed on an opportunity to pester his friend.

She released Yuu's hand quickly and turned red. "Anybody would look handsome standing next to you, jerk!"

"And there you go with that temper again…hehe…I think I know you better than you know yourself," he said coyly.

As his friends stared each other down, Yuu spoke up. "I'm on board. With your help, I'm going to get elected and fix this problem….no matter what."


	2. Take the Power Back!

Author's Note: Been ages since I started this one. I wanted to continue it but was at a loss deciding where to go with it. I decided to just start writing and see what happens. So, chapter 2..

* * *

_Oh dear reader, so begins the political career of me, Yuu Narukami. I've heard it said that all politics is war, and what is war? Let's go right back to Sun Tzu for that one. To summarize, he said, "All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable. When we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far; when far, we must make him believe we are near." You've got to know what your enemy is going to do before he's even decided. I'd wager you don't want to hear me prattle on about ancient Chinese military doctrine, so, if I can be succinct, the key to deception and knowing your enemy in that old saying, "keep your friends close, but your enemies closer."_

* * *

"Alright! I hope you guys are feelings as pumped about this as I am! It's the dawning of a new day! It's morning in Inaba!" the energetic Chie proclaimed as she led her two male counterparts into an empty room in Inaba High School.

"It's 7:30 in the morning Chie, why are you so energetic right now?" came the reply from Yosuke. As he followed lethargically with his eyes toward the floor. "Seriously, how many cups of coffee did you drink this morning? Nobody should be this wired about coming to school half hour early just to talk before class."

She spun around to face Yosuke and snapped back. "I don't even drink coffee! I'm always raring to go when it comes to standing up for what I believe in! If you would rather be doing something else, well, I don't see anyone holding a gun to your head to be here!"

Yosuke sighed. "I want to win this election, don't get me wrong, but I was having such a great dream this morning before Yuu came by my house to wake me up. It was bliss. I was dreaming that Yukiko and I were…" His words stopped abruptly. He recognized that he had metaphorically walked into a post.

Yosuke's eyes slowly rose to observe Chie, who was now staring him down like a wild animal stares down rivals in an attempt to intimidate and defend ones territory. Yosuke observed her stance.

Arms crossed.

Head cocked.

Eyes wide.

Most worrisome was the way her right foot tapped the floor, which signaled that he better choose his next words very, very delicately.

"Do continue," Chie said ominously. "How did this wonderful dream conclude?"

Yosuke weighed his options. What would be less painful? Saying nothing of trying to lie his way out of it? He decided silence would let Chie's imagination run wild, which was a dangerous proposition.

"And we totally did our homework and both got A's on our test next week. I was so happy to ace that test! What a great dream!" he stuttered, hoping she would at the very least go easy on him

Chie focused he gaze on him intently for a few seconds, before relaxing her glare and taking a less menacing pose.

"Oh, I guess that's okay" she quipped, "except, we don't have a test next week." She cocked her leg back as Yosuke bent over and covered his head, letting out a yelp in anticipation.

When the kick never came he raised his head to see Chie shaking her head with a smirk across her face. "Really now, do you think I'd do that here of all places? We've got planning to do, and you've got to be a part of that. You wouldn't be any use if I sent ya to the hospital."

Yosuke sighed. Fooled again.

"An old married couple," Yuu said dryly.

Neither of his friends chastised his comment, as they both looked away to hide their blushing.

The trio took their seats at one of several small round tables in the room.

"So, here's what we know," Chie began, "The student council election is coming in three weeks, and there are several positions in contention. We've already decided that Yuu should go for the President's position, because he's been our leader through and through. Other positions are Vice President and Treasurer. I thought that if we each ran for one, we'd have a better chance of winning, and actually getting to the bottom of this whole student club fiasco."

"Definitely! That will improve our odds of getting some changes around this place." Yosuke replied. "What do you want to run for Chie?'

"Well, I figured you've got some experience with money and that kind of stuff, since you're pretty much the second in command at Junes, so you should run for treasurer. I'd go with Vice President."

"Good thinking Chie. I like it!"

"Thanks. I was also thinking we should include the rest of the gang in this. We've been through so many challenges together, so we should stick together on this one too!" Chie beamed.

"Are there any other openings on the council? I thought it was just the three positions. Do you have something in mind for the rest of our crew to do?"

"Well, I guess I didn't think that far ahead," Chie admitted.

"Hmmm, there's got to be a way for them to help," Yosuke said as he lost himself in thought.

"There is," Yuu proclaimed. "I've got an idea for each of them. We're going to employ their various talents and strengths on the political battlefield."

"Alright!" Chie and Yosuke said in unison. "But how exactly?"

"We're going to bring Naoto into the fold to act as out intelligence agent. She'll gather info on our competitors that we can exploit to our advantage. Next, we'll need Rise to act as our spokesperson. She's a crowd pleaser, and really knows how to speak to the masses, especially impressionable young males. While we're at it, I think you've all noticed the effect a certain bear has on the opposite sex. Teddy will help us wrangle the female vote. Kanji will have an important role too. We'll need some muscle, because I've got a feeling that the current student council won't want to play fair. The rest of the team might not be running for council, but they'll be important in helping us win."

"Man, sounds like you've put a lot of thought into this, dude! That's why you're my bro!" Yosuke said cheerfully.

"What about Yukiko?" Chie inquired. "You didn't mention her name."

"Well, she's been telling me how hard it's been balancing life at the Inn and school lately, so I thought she'd have a hard time adding this election stuff into her schedule. But, you know Yukiko. She'd help her friends with anything, even at her own expense. It just didn't seem fair to me to ask her to sacrifice her time."

Chie swooned, "I wish someone was that thoughtful about me."

Noticing that Chie was lost in a romantic day dream, Yosuke rolled his eyes and nudged Yuu, calling attention not their lovelorn friend.

"Earth to Chie. Earth to Chie," Yosuke called, one had covering his mouth in order to mimic a radio while snapped his fingers with the other hand. Chie shook her head and came back to reality.

"So that's that. We've just got to ask them to help us out. But keep it on the down low from Yukiko, okay? I'll mention it to her eventually, but let's wait to see how much effort this thing actually takes before we burden her with it" Yuu explained, and the other two nodded in agreement.

"So, the next time we meet, we should figure out exactly _how_ we are gonna get people to vote for us. Let's sign up for the election before class, and then figure out what our next move should be," Chie suggested.

The group rose from their seats and exited the room, feeling like they had made real headway in their budding campaign. Before going to their homeroom they stopped by the election signup sheet in the main lobby, and were not surprised to see nobody had entered their names. They knew students weren't very interest in the student council. However, they knew that could prove problematic in getting them out to vote.

* * *

The trio entered their homeroom just before class began, and seated themselves as the morning bell rang. They had narrowly escaped with their freedom intact, as tardiness meant detention after school. Perhaps extra detention if you were an unfortunate young male that had caught the eye of Ms. N. Kashiwagi. Luckily, the rest of the school day passed uneventfully.

As the bell to end classes rang, the group left the room after some small talk. Yuu had planned to text Chie and Yosuke later to figure out the best method of convincing their other comrades to join the campaign.

As Yuu walked towards the exit he noticed a growing crowd of students around the sign-up sheet for the election. Maybe students were more interested in this thing than he thought. Maybe someone else had even put their name on the ticket.

Yuu nudged his way through the crowd to observe the poster. He could see that someone _had_ written their name under his on the President column. He finally got close enough to read the sheet, where he observed his own name "Yuu Narukami," and directly under it, another name ,"Yukiko Amagi"

_Now, dear reader, what did I say about friends and enemies?_


	3. Yuu's Sunday

**Author's Note: **A little change (rather, a major change) to the story folks. For this chapter I'm using the 1st person POV. When I started this story I had the intention of using the fourth wall breaking monologues used in the show House of Cards, and figured a 3rd person narrative would make the 1st person monologues stand out more. I also thought a 3rd person narrative would allow Yuu to seem really distant, which is what I was going for. I've discovered that it's really hard to mimic the narrative feel of House of Cards in a story. A 3rd person narrative with constant 1st person monologues breaking the fourth wall proved confusing. So, I decided to go POV for this chapter. Let me know what you think works better for this story.

**Also**: Note the italics in block signify Yuu is talking to the audience. :)

* * *

It's early Sunday morning, and I've got my cell phone to my ear as it rings. I've got the rest of the day to get my house in order, and prepare for an inevitable political showdown with Yukiko. The girl I'm attempting to contact is likely scrambling to locate her phone under a pile of mess in her room. After several rings, I finally have her on the line.

"Hello?," comes the sound of Chie's voice through the phone.

"Chie, it's Yuu," I reply.

"Oh, hey Yuu, what's goin' on? Sorry I left ya hangin' there for so long. I couldn't find my phone. It's hard to keep this place spic and spam with my dog always getting into things, hehe," her voice cracks.

"Oh, don't worry about it. I'm not on a tight schedule today or anything. It is Sunday after all. I've got nothing but time on my hands," I reply.

"Yeah, that's true."

"Yeah," I say with a chuckle. "Anyway, the reason I called is to see if you got my text message yesterday after school. I was down at Junes and thought you might like to come along and we could work on the election strategy."

"Text message? No, I don't think so. I've been in my room studying since I got home yesterday to be honest. I've kind of barricaded myself in here. I know that sounds a bit out of character, but I figure I better buckle down before exams roll up on us. But no, I don't think I got messages from anyone the whole time."

"Oh, maybe I texted the wrong person. I should have guessed as much, since you're always so quick to get back to me. I really like that about you," I admit coyly.

_As you can well imagine dear reader, I sent no such text. I just need to hear her reason for not receiving it. If she said she must have missed it because she was out with Yukiko, I'd have been in real trouble. But that's not the case. I've still got a chance to keep this seed from sprouting. If this seed blooms it could be a Venus Flytrap with shark's teeth, politically speaking. It looks like Chie is still in the dark about Yukiko's political ambitions._

"Oh Yuu, don't flatter me, you're making me blush," she confesses.

"No, I'm serious. That's one of the reasons you're so important for us to win this election. You always keep your word, and people respect that. What's more, you're a _fighter,_ and people look up to people like you who never back down."

"Yuu, come on! I'm turning red. If I didn't know better I'd say…" she says, but stops mid sentence.

"You shouldn't be so modest Chie," I tell her. "You've got some great qualities, and you should embrace them."

"Thanks Yuu," she replies softly. I can practically hear her heart melting.

"There's another thing that I've been thinking about too. I might be wrong on this one, but hopefully this makes sense. The thing is, Inaba is a really small town. You've lived here your whole life, so it's probably not as obvious to you as it is to Yosuke and I, who are still pretty new here. But, I think some people in town still look at Yosuke and me as outsiders, especially Yosuke because of the whole ordeal with Junes putting the local businesses in jeopardy."

_To continue with the seed metaphors, dear reader, I've just planted one of my own with that remark. Now all that's left to do it water it and let it bloom._

"Yeah, what can I say, some people have a really small town mentality, even in this day and age," she acknowledges with a sigh. "I wish they didn't, but some do. You don't deserve to be seen as an outsider."

"Yeah, I would love to be accepted by everyone. But, I was thinking, since you're born and raised in Inaba, maybe you'd stand a better chance of winning if you ran for president. Maybe you should run for president and I should run for vice president. Does that make any sense to you? You've got that fighting spirit and honesty that people love. Do you think it's a good idea?"

There's a long pause now. One I anticipated. She finally interrupts the silence.

"Yuu, you're the leader of this group. You've been the guy that's brought us through all the hard times. I don't think anyone else could have been the one to do that. I'm really flattered that you think I'd be the best person to be the face of this campaign, but I think it's got to be you. I might be a fighter with strong convictions, but you're more than that. I've got my share of weaknesses that make me, um, how should I say it, unqualified to be speaking on behalf of the student body. I can be over emotional at times. I think a clear headed person like you should take the helm."

_The thing I love most about Chie, dear reader, is that she knows who she is. She's honest with herself. Most people aren't. Most people lie to themselves about who they are their entire lives. You know with Chie that she's always going to do what she thinks is right. Do you remember what I said about knowing what people will do before the decide themselves, dear reader? Of course I don't want her to run for president. Right now, I just need to make sure she doesn't jump ship for Yukiko. Feeding her romantic day dreams is a sure way to keep her aboard._

"Thanks Chie," I say softly.

"I should be thanking you," she says giddily, "I can't remember the last time anyone said so much nice things about me. That really makes me happy right now Yuu. This studying business kind of had me feeling down, but you've really made me feel appreciated…and wanted."

"You _are_ appreciated and wanted Chie." I'll let her interpret that last part however she wants.

Another long silence passes, and I'm sure I'd be able to hear her heart beating if she held the phone a little lower. I decide it's time for the next objective.

"Well, I better let you continue studying. I'll talk to you later Chie," I whisper. She says goodbye and I hand up.

_The wheels are now in motion and I'm shifting into second gear, dear reader. I'm closer to my destination, but I've still got some calls to make._

* * *

I pick up the phone and dial another number. This time, it's Rise Kujikawa.

"Hello," Rise answers, in her usually flirty manner.

"Hey, it's Yuu," I reply.

"It's you? So, it's me?" she answers, giggling at herself.

"No, not that you, the other Yuu," I say dryly, not letting on that I'm aware of the joke.

"The other me? I'm one of a kind, there's only one me," she says, obviously having fun flirting with me.

"Narukami. It's Narukami." I say sternly.

She bursts out into full laughter, and I have to pull the phone away from my ear for a moment until she regains self control.

"I'm sorry Yuu, I don't mean to tease you. I just get so happy when you call me that I can't help but have a little fun," she confesses.

_I know how much Rise Kujikawa loves to flirt with me. I'm not sure where the impression that it's some big secret comes from to be honest, dear reader. Sometimes it can be irritating, but right now it's going to work to my advantage._

"That's okay Rise, I love that you're so playful. It's refreshing in this day and age. Too many people are such prudes," I reply.

"Oh, I knew you'd say that Senpai!" she squeals. "You and I are two-of-a-kind. We really compliment each other well!'

"We sure do Rise," I confirm. "Speaking of which, have you heard about the elections at school? I was hoping you'd like to help out. I'm running for president and I think you'd really be able to help me win."

"You've got my vote Senpai!" she says excitedly.

"That's great Rise. But, I was hoping you might be able to help sway some voters. You're celebrity status could really play a deciding factor in helping me, Chie and Yosuke. We're running for president, vice president and treasurer."

"Say no more Senpai, I'll help you anyway I can. The same goes for the rest of the group," she says, still giggling.

_I knew I had a certain masculine charm over Rise, but this went far smoother than I expected. I'll need her not just for winning the male vote, but also to keep her from joining Yukiko's campaign instead of mine. If Yukiko and Rise were to join together, it could be game over. They'd have that whole "girl power" angle and what not. It's unfortunate for democracy, but if Rise and Yukiko teamed up, most males would vote not with their brain, but with their…you know. Except perhaps for Kanji._

"That's awesome Rise, thank you so much. We'll talk more about it at school. For now, I've got some other stuff to do." I end the call and take a breath. Things are going well.

I decide to go for a run. That should clear my head and allow me to plan my next move. Plus, it's a beautiful day. I quickly change into my gym clothes and sneakers. A few laps around town, a quick stop at the Junes food court for a smoothie, and another lap back home. The sun is going down before I know it. I step back in the front door of Chez Dojima as twilight falls.

It's no surprise that Dojima is not home. Nanako is keeping herself busy as usual, so I decide to head upstairs. Before I climb the stairs, I notice Dojima left his cigarettes on the kitchen table. I don't want Nanako getting any bad ideas and trying one of those, so I shovel the package into my pocket and go to my room.

The run didn't quite clear my head as I expected. I sit at my desk and look into the small TV that rests there. I flick through the channels, but there is nothing good on as usual.

I sit in my chair and lean back with boredom with my head still unclear, when I reach into my pocket and feel the cigarettes. I recall that Dojima usually drags on a cigarette when he's got brain cramps over details of a case. It usually loosens him up. I figure I'll give it a try and see if I can relax and figure out my next move. But I don't want to get caught smoking, that would not end well for me. I can't stink up my room with tobacco smoke, and I can't stand at the front door and wait for Dojima to catch me.

The solution to this problem feels so obvious when I see it. I pull out a smoke and find a lighter in my desk. I place the cigarette in my mouth and light it. I take my first drag, and tell myself that one won't kill me. I inhale deeply and use my free hand to turn on the TV. As my lungs fill with smoke I lean towards my TV and exhale. All the smoke enters the TV, and disappears into the world of the Midnight Channel.

In there, it should be well hidden within the fog.


	4. Yukiko's Sunday

**Author's Note**: Kinda feels like I'm on a roll here! This chapter is back to 3rd person. I think I'll stick to 1st person only on the chapters that are mainly about Yuu, so we can get a view inside his head. I hope this works. Anyway, I'd love some more feedback. I've edited some of the chapters to pick out some mistakes and make things more consistent as well. Please let me know what you think! :)

* * *

Sunday evenings had long been special to Yukiko Amagi. They were something to be cherished for most of her life. Sunday evenings acted as a divider between her life at school and her life at the Inn, both of which were demanding more and more of her time as she got older.

Nonetheless, Sunday evenings continued to bring her the same sense of freedom that they had for years. On Sundays, most of the guests of the inn had departed. Fridays and Saturdays were always busy, but on Sundays, most of the guests quietly packed up and stepped back into their regular lives after enjoying a relaxing few days being catered to by the Amagi clan. By mid afternoon few guests ever remained, which allowed Yukiko to feel like the Inn was her home again rather than a place full of strangers.

Several hours stood between the evening and school in the morning, meaning that the time in between was hers to use as she saw fit. Occasionally,Yukiko used this spent it studying, as it was the most free time she'd get each week. Often however, she reserved it for personal matters. On the Sunday in question, she was curled up on her bed, mulling over what she had done the day before.

Almost on a whim, she had signed her name up to the student council election sheet. She was now officially in the running for President of the Student Council. She didn't hold the position to be anything esteemed or overly important, but the act of entering the race did hold important to her. She'd long felt that her responsibilities at the inn defined her, often in spite of her desire to expand her interests. She'd often had to put other things on hold, or cancel them altogether for the sake of her family and the Inn.

School clubs.

Weekends.

Time with friends.

Relationships.

Romance.

Love.

All had taken a back seat to the Inn at some point. But by running for president, she felt like she was taking a stand, not to spite her family, but to prove to herself that she was more than the girl that ran the Inn. She could be both things.

"Yuu. Your name was there too. I guess we'll be competitors in this thing," she thought to herself as her lips curled into a smile. She gripped a throw pillow and pulled it to her mouth, softly biting the edge of it.

"Haha, this could be fun. I think the rest of the gang will be happy to see me do this," she whispered. As she weighed her decision, she began to understand that it would serve as a way of affirming to the group that they had made a huge difference in her life. She'd been slow to realize it, but she'd long ago become more than "the girl who runs the Inn."

Yuu's name crossed her mind again. She remembered how she felt when she saw his name on the sign up sheet.

"Of course he would run," were her thoughts. "But I bet it's to help other people." That was a characteristic she'd admired and always wanted to attain; altruism, and knowing what the right thing to do was. That's what attracted her so much to Yuu. She gripped her pillow tightly and sunk her face into it as he filled her thoughts.

"I wonder if he's thinking about winning the election right now. I bet he is! He has a way of getting wrapped up in things quickly. He always gives his all, even on crazy things like the Group Date Café. I mean, he _voluntarily_ decided to be the third girl, and that cross dressing fashion show? Oh my gosh, what a riot! He'll invest himself in this just as much, I'm sure. He'll probably get carried away!"

"Of course, I also signed up to run as president because I thought he'd respect that," Yukiko reminded herself. She let out a long huff and hugged her pillow close to her chest.

"What better way to get close to him than showing how important he's been in helping me overcome my inner fears? This will demonstrate that, won't it?"

"I wonder if Chie will be surprised. Probably a little, but she'll support me in this!" she concluded. "I wonder if she's thinking the same thing as me? Maybe that's why she signed up for Vice President. Maybe she wants to get close to him like I do? Maybe she deserves him more than I do. Maybe she's better for him than I am anyway. I couldn't hold that against her, but….I wish we could all get what we want."

Yukiko stretched her arms and legs across her bed and looked up to the ceiling. "Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see how this thing turns out. What if I actually _win?"_

* * *

I hope ya liked that one! I wanted to characterize Yukiko a bit at this point. After 3 chapters in 4 days, it might be a while before the next one, so if you're digging my story I beg you for patience :P


	5. Chie and Yosuke's Sunday

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** I'm back for more! I feel like I'm getting a better grip on how to get this story to go where I want, so it's getting a lot funner to write. Anyway, I gave in to my inner dork in this chapter and included some Star Wars homages. Let me know if you can spot them, haha. Chie and Yosuke's bickering kind of reminds me of Han Solo/Leia, so I played that up a little with this chapter. As always, please read and review. A few nice words really make we want to keep writing :)

* * *

Chie and Yosuke strode through the Junes parking lot, heading towards the front doors.

"Why did _we_ get stuck with this? I'm a master of many talents! I can contribute more than an arts and crafts project," Yosuke groaned.

"The only thing you've been a master of since we decided to run for council is complain! Will you knock it off already?" Chie fired back.

"Yeah yeah, I know, I've been a buzz kill. But of all the places I'd wanna spend my Sunday afternoon, Junes is on the bottom of the list. It's my day off from work, and here I am coming in anyway," Yosuke grumbled.

Chie thought about his words and conceded that he had a point, but she concluded that their 'arts and crafts project' actually had vital importance to the campaign.

"I know it's boring Yosuke, but we need to get some stuff in order to make posters to promote ourselves. We need to get our names out there if we want people to vote for us. We need construction paper, and paints, and coloured pencils, and glitter, and glue, among other things. If we're gonna do this, we're gonna play to win," Chie preached, feeling she'd win him over by explaining it clear and logically.

"And let me guess, I'll be paying for all of it?" Yosuke whined.

"I'll pay ya back, don't worry. You know I'm good for it."

"Ya, I bet," he moaned as they set foot through the large automatic doors.

* * *

"Hey Yosuke, do they have, like, maps of the store?"

"Maps of the store? What are you talking about?"

"I mean, there's so many aisles. How do we find anything? I'm lost already."

Yosuke let out another long sigh. "Oh Chie, this is why I can't bring you anywhere."

The pair had made their way into the store in search of the crafts department with Chie leading the way. Realizing that Chie was 'navigationally challenged', Yosuke stepped forward and began leading her in the right direction.

"Maybe we should stop by electronics and get you a GPS," Yosuke teased.

"Maybe we should stop by electronics and you can buy me a replacement Trial of the Dragon DVD, jerk. Don't kid yourself into thinking I forgot about that," she retorted. Yosuke remained silent, unable to think of a comeback. He couldn't argue the facts; she was right and he owed her a DVD.

Yosuke led Chie down a narrow aisle with high shelves, filled to capacity with art supplies of every variety.

Chie's scanned the shelves, taken aback by how much there was to choose from. She'd mistakenly assumed that they'd be in and out of the store in a few minutes, but she now doubted it would be so simple. She got to work immediately and began pulling things from the shelves. Within seconds her arms were nearly full so she gestured for Yosuke to find a cart, which he did begrudgingly. Chie dumped her haul into the cart when he returned.

"Soooo, you get an employee discount on this stuff right?" she asked. Yosuke only grumbled in response.

Chie continued to pull things from the shelves and toss them into the cart, losing herself in the unfamiliar sensation brought on by a shopping spree. She wasn't ever very interested in shopping, which she considered overly materialistic, but the blissful feeling of picking out everything she wanted at that moment swept over her.

"_I like this paper!"_

"_That's a pretty color paint!"_

"_These scissors will work great!"_

"_Gold and silver glitter!"_

"_I can't forget the markers. I better get the scented ones!"_

A barrage of similar thoughts flew through her head as fast as the goods flew into the shopping cart.

"Chie! Stop!" Yosuke finally objected.

The brunette turned toward him and saw that the shopping cart was overflowing with supplies. Some had already spilled over the sides and were strewn on the floor.

"Um, do you think that's enough stuff?" she asked, attempting to keep the embarrassment she was feeling from appearing on her face.

"I am _not_ buying all of this," Yosuke replied resolutely.

* * *

By the time the pair departed the crafts aisle, they had significantly cut back the number of things in their cart. They had decided to stick to the essentials.

"So, we get our midterm report cards next week, huh?" Yosuke piped.

"Yup" Chie replied in a long drawl, which was meant to let Yosuke know that she was not looking forward to it and didn't want to talk about it either.

"I think I'll be fine this time around. I'm actually kind of looking forward to seeing my grades. I feel like I'm finally hitting my intellectual stride. Not that I had much of a choice. My parent actually threatened to send me to cram school if I don't pick up my grades. Can you believe that? I'd have to spend every day after school with a tutor! But hell, if I do as well as I think I did, I'd even be willing to tutor you Chie."

Chie considered halting in her tracks and chewing him out for implying that her poor grades we a fait accompli, but she decided against it. She wasn't certain whether he was teasing her or being sincere with his offer. She'd often found he walked that line; he seemed to know how to get a rise out of her at will. She'd deny him that this time, and hold him to his word if his grades were as good as he boasted.

"Yosuke, look!" Chie hissed suddenly through bared teeth, as she came to a halt. She raised a hand and pointed of into the distance of Junes, pivoting her head to look Yosuke in the eye. "Look who it is."

Yosuke stepped beside Chie and scanned for the person Chie had noticed. "Hey isn't that what's-his-name, that student Rep from the other day?

"Yeah! I bet he's here for art stuff too! We should go back and buy it ALL so he can't make any posters at all! That'll teach him to mess with us!"

"You're not spending anymore of my money Chie!" Yosuke shouted back.

Chie slammed her hand over Yosuke's mouth, silencing him. "Quiet! He'll hear you. I want to see what he's up to. It's probably nothing good! If we maintain the element of surprise, we can follow him."

"Yeah, just like a ninja scene from some Kung Fu movie, I bet," Yosuke answered back wryly.

"Follow me" Chie demanded as she headed in the direction that the rep was going. She glided forward with her back arched and arms extended in an apparent attempt to maintain stealth. She crossed the main aisle and ducked behind a display of paint cans on the other side. Peeking from behind her hiding place she motioned for Yosuke to follow the same path while she kept lookout.

Yosuke shrugged and shook his head. He walked unconcerned across the aisle, crossing his arms and letting out a sigh when he reached Chie.

"What. Are. You. Doing?!" She questioned in a hushed but angry voice.

"What are _you_ doing?" he fired back. "You're calling way more attention to yourself than you would if you just walked normally. The key to stealth is to be inconspicuous, not to mimic some ninja movie. Guess what Chie, those guys in the movies that run like that _aren't_ real ninjas!"

"Well how would _you_ suggest we spy on him?" Chie answered, her pride wounded.

"I dunno, _spy casual_."

Chie stood upright and dusted off her skirt. She'd do it his way, this time.

"Fine, but I still don't want him to see us," she insisted.

"Ya, that's probably a good idea. Just act like you're shopping."

The pair continued in the direction of the student rep. The route took them into the grocery section. Weaving between the aisles, the duo was able to keep close watch on their target, who didn't appear to be interested in art supplies at all. To Chie and Yosuke, he seemed to be _strolling_. He wasn't buying any groceries, and he didn't seem particularly interested in much of anything.

Yosuke peeked around the corner of the aisle to get a clear look while pretending to read the dietary information on the back of a bag of chips. "What is this guy doing? We have a strict 'no loitering' policy in this store. If he isn't going to buy anything he should get the hell out!" he thought to himself.

The rep continued briskly and turned another corner.

"Chie, he's going into the meat section. If we follow him, he's gonna see us. There isn't anything we can hide behind there. It's really 'open concept' so there aren't any big shelves, just those shallow freezers and coolers along the walls."

"What? There's gotta be something we can do."

Yosuke wasn't trying to come up with a bright idea, but inspiration struck him nonetheless. He smiled deviously and snapped his fingers.

"I've got a plan. If I can get into the lunch room, I might be able to swipe these costumes that we use sometimes for promotions. You know, like, for giving out free samples and stuff. People want to try free food more when they're getting it from some dude in a costume for some reason. If we put the costumes on, he won't even recognize us," Yosuke informed.

"Costumes? What kind of costumes," Chie asked, perplexed.

"Well, the ones we've got now are _bear_ costumes," Yosuke replied, feeling like he deserved high praise for his ingenuity.

"Bear costumes?! You're saying _I'm_ drawing unwanted attention, and you want to dress up in freaking bear costumes!?" Chie answered back in disbelief of her friend's plan.

This time, Yosuke placed _his_ hand over _Chie's_ mouth to silence her, and keep the two from having their cover blown. "It'll work, trust me," Yosuke affirmed and then crept away before Chie could object.

"Oh boy, the _last_ thing I need in my life in _another bear_," Chie whispered to herself as she buried her face in her hands.

* * *

Yosuke returned after a few minutes with the bear costumes in tow.

"Look Chie, they're Panda Bears!" he said triumphantly with a wide smile.

"Well that's..amazing," she answered. "Let's get these stupid things on fast and see if we can find him."

Getting into the bear costume proved arduous for Chie. The one piece bear costume needed to be _stepped_ _into_ rather than being put on like a regular piece of clothing. Each time she placed her legs into it and tried to pull the rest of the fur over herself, the waist would fall down in a mess, making it look like she was standing in a melted Panda Bear.

"How do you do this?" she asked, getting more aggravated with each attempt.

"You've got to clip the belt around first. That holds up the legs," Yosuke explained, already in full bear attire. "Like this," he added when he secured the belt to support the lower half around Chie's waist. Chie then drew the rest of the costume over her head, slid her human arms into the bear arms and allowed Yosuke to zip up the belly.

Bear Chie looked Bear Yosuke in the eye and issued a stern warning. "No bear puns," she said coldly.

Bear Yosuke nodded in agreement.

The two bears stepped around the corner of the aisle at last and entered the meat section. By chance, the Rep was still in the opposite corner of the section, and periodically checked his watch.

"He's waiting for something." Yosuke deduced. Chie nodded in agreement.

"Hey hey hey! Looking good in those costumes you two!" the voice of an adult called from behind. 'I thought you guys both called in sick today. But you're _troopers_, through and through! Glad to see you came in for your shift."

Both bears spun around to see the Junes promotional manager. Yosuke gestured for Chie to remain quiet while he formulated an escape plan.

"The table's already set up guys. It's right there actually," the manager continued, jerking his head toward a table with a small fridge placed underneath and a pyramid of beverage cans arranged on top.

"Once the free sample promotion is over, I'm sure we're gonna sell a ton of this stuff. Risette promoted it after all, and you know what that means! It's Rissette's Calorie Magic, New Grape Flavour! You're probably gonna be busy giving a lot of this stuff away, so if you guys need to go to the little bear's room, there's a walkie-talkie under the table, so just buzz me if nature calls. Anyway, you know the drill, have a good one!" the man chimed happily then disappeared down another aisle.

"Let's get the hell outta here before he comes back," Chie cried nervously.

"No, let's stay. If we hang out at the free sample table we'll have a clear view of the guy and he'll never know it's us. He's waiting _here_ for a _reason_. If we hand out a few cans of…whatever that stuff is, we'll see what that guy's deal is."

"Did he actually call it 'the little bear's room?" Chie asked when her brain finally processed what rated among the stupidest things she had ever heard.

* * *

Nearly ten minutes had passed. The rep paced in his corner of the section and continued to check his watch every few minutes. Risette's Calorie Magic was proving less popular than imagined, with only a few people talking samples.

"Risette's Calorie Magic huh?" Yosuke pondered as he took a can in his paws. "I can't believe they're still using her likeness for this kinda stuff. Her face is even on the can. I thought she was pretty clear with her manager that she needed time off, and didn't want to be some hollow corporate product. I guess somebody didn't get the message."

He looked closer at the can.

"This is pretty cool though. There's a contest going on with this drink right now. You can win a trip to Seoul . You've just got to peel this sticker off the can to see if you win."

"That's really awesome and everything, but can we please just keep an eye on that rep?" Chie pleaded.

As if on cue, the rep stopped pacing when a man in a grey business suit, trailed by small entourage of other professionally dressed men, approached. The man in grey stopped in front of the rep and they appeared to exchange greetings.

"Hey, I've seen that guy before," Yosuke informed. "I'm pretty sure he's one of the big shots from head office. Yeah, I'm sure of it."

"How do you know?" Chie inquired.

"Those corporate big wigs have a real "Great Leader" complex or something. They make sure there's a portrait of them in every Junes. That guy's picture is on the wall in the lunch room. He's got this really dead looking smile in that photo. It's kinda off-putting to tell you the truth."

"So _who_ is he exactly?"

"I can't remember his name, but I think his job title is Regional Director of Retail, or something like that. He's a pretty high up in the corporate food chain around here. He actually works for the company that owns Junes, the Kirijo Group. He's sort of the go between for Junes in this region and the parent company."

"Well, what they hell is he talking to that kid for?"

"Beats me."

Before they could think further about the matter, the group of business men and the young rep stepped through a door marked 'Employees Only'.

"Crap, we can't follow them Chie. That door leads to the conference room. I'm not even allowed in their normally. They keep it locked unless somebody from head office comes down for a meeting," Yosuke explained.

The pair fixed their gaze on the door, trying to come up with another course of action.

"Hey, can I have a drink Mr. Bear," called the voice of a child.

The pair averted their attention back to the free sample table and saw that the voiced belonged to Nanako, who was reaching for a can.

Yosuke disguised his voice when he answered and passed her a can, "You sure can little girl. Here you go. It's a new flavour, and it's _bear-y_ good!"

Nanako took the can with a blank expression on her face, her eyes fixed on Yosuke. "Did you say _bear_-y good?"

"I sure did, little girl!" Yosuke replied cheerfully.

The blank expression remained on Nanako's face.

"Wow. That's really lame." She swiveled around to face Chie, whose bear costume was several sizes to big for her, allowing it to sag noticeably.

"Aren't you a little short to be a promotional bear?" she question Chie, before walking away.

"That kid is something else," Yosuke groaned, his voice muffled by the costume.

Chie and Yosuke discussed their options and decided to man their station at the table until the business man and the rep came back through the door. Time seemed to be passing slowly as they waited. Chie leaned against the table, wondering how she'd gotten into such a ridiculous situation. She resolved to use her better judgement next time Yosuke had a plan.

"Yosuke, look over there, it's Kanji!" Chie squeaked suddenly. "Let's get his attention. Maybe he can help us gather some dirt on that rep!"

Yosuke looked down the aisle and spotted Kanji as well. The pair began flailing their arms at Kanji and gesturing him over. Chie slammed her foot against the floor, making a loud noise. The sounds of her stomping caused Kanji to gaze in her direction, but the confused look on his face suggested he thought he was dealing with two very energetic employees trying to pass out free samples. He headed back in the direction he came and out of sight.

"Damn, he didn't recognize us," Chie muttered.

Just then, the walkie-talkie under the table crackled to life. Yosuke promptly grabbed it, trying not to fumble it with his bear paws.

_*Hey man, are you there?*_ the voice of the manager rang.

"Right here boss," Yosuke answered into the walkie-talkie.

_*Listen man, I just saw a little girl walking around with a can of Calorie Magic. You know it's a dietary supplement right? You can't give that stuff to children. I explained that to you yesterday.*_

Yosuke picked up a can from the pyramid on the table and read the fine print:

SHOULD NOT BE CONSUMED BY CHILDREN

"Sorry boss, it won't happen again. I guess I forgot," Yosuke blurted. He then placed the can back on the pyramid, but due to the lack of dexterity of the bear costume, the can slipped from his hand. The can rolled down the pyramid and chain reaction ensued, with the entire display crashing down. The sound of the disaster reverberated into the walkie-talkie.

_*What was that noise? Is everything okay?*_

"Uh, everything's under control. Situation normal," Yosuke spoke into the walkie.

_*What happened?*_

"Uh, we had a slight malfunction, but uh... everything's perfectly all right now. We're fine. We're all fine here now, thank you. How are you?" Yosuke cringed at his choice of words.

_*Who is this?! I'm sending someone over!*_ the manager responded, seemingly figuring out that the person in the bear costume was an imposter.

"Um, Chie, I think we're about to have company! Let's get the hell outta these costumes! " fretted Yosuke.

Chie found herself panicking. She didn't see any feasible escape route. Within her bear costume, she'd stand out. She finally turned to Yosuke for direction, only to find that he was nearly out of his costume already. He pulled the last foot out of the suit and came to Chie's aid, unzipping the costume, undoing the belt and lifting her out of the legs.

The sound of feet slamming against the floor echoed behind them. Someone was defiantly coming to find out what happened. Yosuke ducked down and ran in the opposite direction, not realizing that he had left Chie behind, whose nerves had frozen her in place.

The sound of the footsteps grew louder as they approached. They were nearly upon her. Getting her nerves under control, Chie spun around wildly, looking for a hiding place. Without thinking it through, she decided the meat cooler beside her was the best option. She slid open the glass top and climbed inside. It was chilly, but not freezing. She was more concerned about the size of the cooler than the temperature; it was a rather cramped place to hide out.

Chie imagined that she'd still be entirely visible if the manager happened to stare down in the cooler as he walked past, so she began piling the packed meat on top of her body for camouflage. Steaks, chicken, pork chops, whatever was available would do.

She heard the manager approach the mess she and Yosuke had left around the table. It sounded like he had a few other people with him. She figured it was Junes' security guards. They talked with each other for a long while, but Chie couldn't make out what they were saying from underneath the meat. She decided to wait for silence before she attempted to crawl out of the cooler.

For a few minutes all was silent, but she decided to wait longer just in case someone was still there cleaning up the mess.

Then the lid of the cooler slid open. Chie wasn't in a position to react. She simply gazed through the opening.

She looked up to see Kanji, who wore a baffled expression as he looked down at her. He rubbed his eyes and refocused his stare to confirm what he was seeing.

Chie Satonaka was inside a freezer, nearly covered in meat products, staring right back at him.

"Dude, you _have_ a problem," was the only comment he offered.


	6. Midnight Rambler

**Author's Note: **Short chapter here compared to the last one. But a needed plot point nonetheless! As always, I want to know what you think. Review are appreciated.

* * *

The constant ringing of her cell phone drew Naoto out of her sleep. She had tried to ignore the buzzing by wrapping her pillow around her head, but even that failed to drown out the sound. The ringing continued; whoever was on the other end of the line was persistent. She finally reached in the dark for the phone, convinced that taking the call would allow her to get back to sleep much faster than ignoring it.

With her face still planted in her pillow, she fumbled her hand around her night stand before finding the phone ans scooping it up. She'd reasoned that there was only one person with the audacity to call her in the middle of the night, Yosuke Hanamura.

She flipped open the phone and the screen illuminated the room. The light forced her to squint to maintain any focus. She looked at the caller identification and found her deduction to be correct.

"What?" Naoto groaned when she brought the phone to her ear.

"Hey Naoto, what's up?" Yosuke gulped nervously.

"What do you want Yosuke? It's 2:35 am. What do you want?" the young detective hissed.

"Yeah, I'm really sorry to call you this late. I know it's kind of a jerk thing to do, but it really is important," he stuttered and waited for Naoto's reply.

"Well, go on with it," Naoto demanded.

"Well, it's about the student council election. Chie, Yuu and I are running in it and we were wondering if you'd be able to help us out with the campaign," Yosuke explained.

"Couldn't we discuss this at school? Is there a reason you couldn't wait six hours?" Naoto yawned.

"Yeah, I wish it could wait, but I promised Narukami that I would ask you before school on Monday. I got a little tied up in _other things_ on Sunday, so I didn't really get a chance. Since Yuu has been doing the leg work on his end, I didn't want to let him down." Yosuke sniffled.

Naoto now recognized unease in Yosuke's voice. He seemed to be breathing heavy.

"Yosuke, are you alright? You sound like something is wrong," Naoto asked gently.

"Oh, I'm fine. It's nothing to worry about. It's just that I had a really, _really long day._ I won't go into the specifics of it right now though. Long story short, I was kind of stressed about something and now I'm exhausted because I only got home a few minutes ago. I'm okay though," Yosuke assured.

Naoto accepted his wish to leave the subject alone, and didn't press for further explanation.

"What exactly is it that you want from me Yosuke?" she replied.

"Well, we want to find out what the current student council is doing with all of our student funds. They're supposed to be putting them to use for student clubs and activities, but those clubs keeping getting cancelled. We went to one of the reps to ask him what's up with that, but he basically told us to go the hell away. It was really weird," Yosuke recalled.

"And I assume this is the part where I come in," Naoto gripped.

"Yeah! We were thinking maybe you can investigate this guy or something. Or maybe do some digging around to see if anyone knows what the council is doing with the money. It would be for the good of the student body!"

Naoto rubbed her eyes and considered how to respond to Yosuke without upsetting him. "Yosuke, I can't simply investigate this person on your suspicion alone. Putting my skills to use for the benefit of friends and associates would be unethical."

"Aw man, so is that a no then?" Yosuke sobbed through the phone line.

"Not necessarily. However, if you are concerned about his behaviour I suggest we talk about this in depth at school. If I find your concerns to be justified, I can only talk to the rep directly. Until I have something more concrete than his rude behaviour to base suspicion, I'm afraid I cannot promise to investigate him or how the money is spent."

"That's perfectly reasonable Naoto," Yosuke cheered. "All I'm asking is to keep your eye out for anything fishy going on at school."

"If there are underhand dealings or subterfuge occurring at school, I'll catch wind if it and I'll expose it. You can count on that much Yosuke," she assured.

Without waiting for a response from Yosuke, Naoto hung up and rolled over in her bed. She waited for the phone to ring again, but when it stayed silent she quickly drifted back to sleep.


	7. Group Date Campaign

**AN**: I feel like this story is really hurrying along. I was able to think out most of these plot points about a week ago, so it's just been a matter of putting pen to paper (er, finger to keyboard?) and sharing. I'd still _love_ more feedback, whether you like the story or not. I simply want to know if people are actually reading it, or am I the only one getting any value out of it? :P Every review is appreciated! Also, if anyone has any Photoshop skill (I don't) I'd like to design a cover for this story. I have something very simple in mind, so if you're interested in helping me out, send me a message :0

* * *

Monday afternoon had arrived, marking the official beginning of the election campaign for Yuu, Chie and Yosuke. During their lunch hour at Yasogami High School, they set up a long table in the first floor hallway. The trio sat behind the table, with three empty chairs on the opposite side. Their intent was to host an informal meet and greet session with any students interested in talking to the candidates and discussing their platform, but few students had shown interest so far.

Yuu sat in the middle, with Yosuke to his right and Chie to his left. Yosuke sat with a carefree posture, but Chie was slumped down in her seat with her head placed on the desk. She kept her arms folded over her head, covering her face from view fully, and didn't utter a word. Yuu thought it unlike her to appear so dejected

In front of the table, Rise wooed passing students. As expected, nearly every male student that caught a glimpse of her found themselves under her spell.

"Yuu, Chie and Yosuke! They're the best choice! Vote for them!" she insisted with a smile.

"Can we count on your vote?" she asked seductively to others.

To Yosuke, it seemed that Yuu's plan to utilize Rise as their 'spokesperson' was stealing all the attention from the actual campaign and the candidates. From his seat, Yosuke watched as Rise charmed passersby into talking to her.

"Man, people are paying more attention to her than to _us_," Yosuke noted. "I wonder if anybody will even remember who she's asking them to vote for, or if the only thing they are going to remember is that Rise talked to them today. I mean, look at the expression most of these guys have on their faces. She could probably ask them to jump of a bridge and they'd smile and nod."

"That reminds me," Yuu interjected, "did you guys pick up the supplies from Junes to make posters? If we actually had some posters with our names on them, we might make a lasting impression on the voters."

Yosuke cringed noticeably. He leaned forward in his seat and bit his fingernails before turning to Yuu and speaking.

"Well, sort of. We went to Junes but things took an unexpected turn," he said, with his words trailing off.

Yuu stared at Yosuke quizzically. He then turned his attention to Chie, who was still leaning over with her head covered.

"I suppose _this_ has something to do with that?" Yuu asked, referring Chie's sullen posture.

"You mean you _seriously_ don't know?" Yosuke asked, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about," Yuu responded, looking into Yosuke's eyes for the answer to a question he was apparently supposed to know.

"You don't watch the news or read the paper, do ya buddy?" Yosuke replied with a tired sigh. He leaned back his chair, causing it to stand only on the back two legs. He delicately balanced the teetering chair and ran both hands through his hair.

"Okay, so we went into Junes to get the supplies. We picked out a bunch of stuff and were on our way to the checkout, but we saw that student council rep from the other day. We found his behaviour really suspicious so we decided to follow him. And long story short, Chie got caught in the meat freezer by Junes security. They even called the cops on her." Yosuke recalled with a gulp.

Yuu looked at Chie again. She appeared to have sunken deeper into her seat and closed her arms around her head even tighter.

"So the security guys took Chie into the backroom until the cops got there. I guess it's against the law to climb into meat freezers or something. If it wasn't for my dad being a big part of the company, she might have gotten in some real trouble. At first, some of the Junes managers wanted the police to file a mischief charge against her but I was able to convince them not to, being the son of the manager and whatnot. They ended up simply banning her from the store for a year."

"Wait a minute," Yuu interrupted, "what does this have to do with watching the news?"

"Oh, the story gets better here my friend," Yosuke continued. "Somehow word got out that a girl was arrested in Junes for staging a protest against the store. I don't know how word spread so fast, but in no time flat there was a crowd of people in front of the store _supporting Chie_ with their own protest. My dad says it was mostly people from the shopping district who are struggling since Junes opened up. They apparently started a group called '_The Friends of Inaba Shopping District'_ a while back to mobilize support of small businesses in Inaba. I guess they figured this was as good an opportunity as ever to strike back at Junes."

"_The Friends of Inaba Shopping District_? Yeah, I think I've heard them mentioned before in the news. Hold on, did this end up on the news?!" Yuu asked, with his jaw ajar in amazement.

"You bet!" Yosuke confirmed. "Those 'Friends of Inaba' protesters called the local media and let them know they were staging a protest, so the local TV networks were down there the whole time."

Yuu leaned forward, looked straight ahead and clasped his hands. "So, the point of this story is that you forgot the supplies in your cart, right?" he questioned.

"Yeah, pretty much," Yosuke answered with an apologetic sigh. "My dad made me stay at Junes to work the back-shift as punishment. I didn't get home until after 2am. I guess I forgot to go find the cart and buy the stuff afterwards. But the weekend wasn't a total loss! I did call Naoto like you asked me to, and she said she'd keep an eye out for suspicious activity!"

Yuu looked back at Chie. She remained curled over in her chair, her face still invisible.

"Chie was even on TV," Yosuke explained. "When the cops finally decided not to charge her, the Junes security guards escorted her off the property. As it turns out, the news crews were waiting. By now everyone in town probably knows about her '_protest_.' And you know how people in small towns can be; gossip is a way of life. All kinds of rumors are swirling around about her. As you can see, she's kind embarrassed about being _famous_ all of the sudden…or is _notorious_ the correct word?"

From the other end of the hall, Teddie approached the seated trio, sporting a characteristic grin. He bypassed Yuu and Yosuke and planted himself in front of Chie.

"Chie-chan!" he said giddily, causing Chie to lift her head for the first time since taking her seat. "I heard that you _scored_ in a meat freezer with Yosuke! Can you score with me too?!" His smile expanded as the words left his mouth.

Chie felt a chill run down her spine and a burning sensation shoot though her entire body. Her skin turned a shade paler and her face froze in a gasp. Yosuke meanwhile fell backwards in his seesawing chair, landing on the floor with a loud thud.

"That's what I heard from one of the upperclassmen anyway!" Teddie added enthusiastically.

Yuu waited for Chie to react but she remained frozen in position, unblinking. He placed a hand on her shoulder and nudged her gently, but she remained unresponsive.

Growing worried, Yuu stood up and walked to her side where he could look at her face to face. He took a knee beside her, placed his hand again on her shoulder and called her name. Her gaze remained fixed in position and she didn't move. Yuu's expression morphed into a grimace as his worry grew. He placed his palm on her forehead softly and brushed her hair away from her eyes, saying her name a little louder.

Chie's eyes shifted almost imperceptibly toward to sound of Yuu's voice. Her stone faced expression began to loosen, and she took a deep breath. The shock in her face seemed to give way to total embarrassment, and she turned cherry red. She pressed her face against the table again.

"This is the worst day of my life," Chie whimpered between sobs.

Yosuke had by that time gathered himself off the floor. "Well just wait till you get your report card tomorrow Chie, that could _be much worse_," he snickered.

Upon that remark, Chie propelled herself out of her slouching posture and onto her feet. As she stood she knocked her chair backward and it crashed to the floor violently. She clasped the side of the table with both hands tightly, as if to tear it apart. She looked at Yosuke with derision in her eyes which none of her friends had witnessed before.

"Shut the hell up Yosuke! I _hate_ you so much right now!" she growled and stormed off down the hallway while rubbing her eyes.

Yosuke cowered slightly at the sudden outburst. When Yuu looked at him he responded with a shrug and an uneasy smile.

"You better go after her and apologize, if you ever want her to speak to you again that is," Yuu advised.

Yosuke was reluctant to do so initially, but all of the students in the hallway had stopped in their tracks and were directing their attention at the scene that had just unfolded. He decided that he'd look like the biggest jerk in the universe if he didn't get up and at least make an attempt to patch things up. He walked down the hall slowly in the direction Chie had gone, fearful that he was going willfully to the gallows.

"Does that mean Chie-chan and I can't score today?" Teddie asked.

With the remaining seats empty, Rise marched over to the table and placed herself in the seat opposite of Yuu, who had gone back to his spot in the middle.

"What the heck is Yosuke's problem" Rise blasted. "Why'd he have to say something so stupid? It's always such a big joke with him! Couldn't he see how upset and hurt she was? I hope she's okay. As an Idol, I know how stressful and hurtful rumors can be. Even after dealing with that kind of thing for years, it can still make me sick to my stomach. Chie must be feeling horribly stressed right now since she's never had to deal with this before."

Yuu nodded in agreement. Yosuke tended to act before he thought, especially around Chie. They squabbled often, but there usually seemed to be a friendly back and forth in their bickering. There was no doubt that Yosuke had truly upset her that day however.

Without warning, a crowd of students proceeded down the hallway together, looking like an unruly mob. Many of them pumped the air with their fists as they marched toward the table. Yu and Rise exchanged nervous glances, unsure of how to interpret the approaching mass. One student stepped from the crowd and looked directly at Yuu.

Yuu's body tensed up, unsure of the crowd leader's intentions.

"Um, it's Narukami, right?" the leader spoke with a meek voice.

Yuu confirmed his identity with a nod.

"Um, we heard that Chie was running for Vice President and that she was over in this hallway, but I don't see her" the student muttered, sounding very nervous.

Yuu explained that Chie had to leave early, without divulging why she left or where she may have gone. After hearing that rumors about Chie were flying around, he didn't want to expose her to such a strange mob of students, whom he suspected might intend to ridicule her for supposed promiscuities in a deep freeze.

"Oh, damn," the lead student sulked when he learned Chie had just left. "We saw her on the news yesterday. We wanted to tell her how _happy _we are about what she did. It's about time somebody stood up to Junes! You see, we're all sons and daughters of business owners in the shopping district. Junes' business model is _killing_ the livelihood of our families! We all want to tell her _thank you, _and let her know that voting for her in the school election is the very least we can do to express our gratitude. And since you're supporting her in this election, we intend to vote for you as president! She stood up for us against Junes, so we're sure she'll stand up for us at school!"

Yuu thanked the crowd for their support, and promised to do everything he could to strengthen the student community if he won the election. He also promised to let Chie know about their visit the next time he saw her.

The crowd departed, chanting "Say no to Junes!" repeatedly. Yuu sat back in his chair feeling more confident about his prospects of winning the election.

Rise began to giggle wildly, gaining Yuu's attention.

"Oooo, this will cheer Chie up _so much!_" she proclaimed with an enormous grin. "Knowing that not everyone is buying into terrible rumors, I mean. I can't wait to tell her!"

Yuu felt happy for Chie as well.

With lunch break drawing to an end, and his two running mates departed, Yuu decided to pack up the table and chairs with Rise and Teddie's help. Once everything was secured in the storage closet, the group split up and went to their individual lockers.

With the remaining few minutes of the lunch break ticking away, Yuu didn't expect to see anyone in campaign mode. Yet Yukiko stood in the second floor hallway handing out her own election pamphlets to any student that would take one as they hurried to their next class.

When their eyes met, both Yukiko and Yuu smiled.

* * *

I'd like to think of this chapter as the end of Act One in my story. Things are really going to start churning, now that I've got most of the characters relationships and intentions setup. There's going to be more of the elements that make House of Cards so great, and hopefully I can work a funny spin into that!

The next chapter is going to be a Yuu's POV chapter by the way. I was going to make this chapter in Yuu's point of view, but felt it would work better in the next one.


	8. The Amagi Identity

Authors Note: The plot thickens from here on out. I hope things don't get too wild! Anyway, it will probably be a few weeks before the next chapter. I'm going to be really busy for a while, so my story takes a back seat for now . I hope to come back with a vengeance though, so fear not if you like this story. It shall continue!

Also, note that text blocks in _ITALICS _are meant to be fourth wall breaking dialogue from Yuu. This is a spoof/parody of house of cards after all, and it wouldn't be complete without that element

* * *

_Why, hello dear reader. It's been far too long since we last talked. Were you beginning to miss me? I'm sure you were. In any case, I'm happy to see you again. I'm almost as happy to see Yukiko Amagi. Why, you ask, am I happy to see my primary competitor for the Presidency? Don't make the mistake of thinking she's not my friend dear reader. Politics is just politics, and our friendship will survive this student council business. I'm happy to see her because I've just learned some wonderful news. This news is going to assure my political victory, and if Yukiko can feel which way the wind is blowing, it'll assure victory for her as well._

"Yuu!" she calls with a shy smile as her eyes fall upon me.

I sense the genuine happiness she feels when she sees me, it radiates from her. We haven't spent any real time together over that last few days, and I know she wants more than simple friendship between us. It must take great restraint for her to keep from following through on those urges. I admire that and I greet her with a smile in turn.

"Would you like a flyer? I'm running for Council President," she informs me coyly. I take the flyer and examine it, not forgetting to tell her how amazing it is that she's running in the election.

"Thanks Yuu! Although, I see you're running as well," she confesses. A brief silence develops, but I respond quickly before it gets awkward.

"That's right. I thought I'd be able to bring some changes if I won. But you'd be a great President too, probably even better than me," I admit. "To me it's really about beating the current student executive. Have you noticed how they keep cancelling all the student clubs?"

She confirms that she has, and that she's very concerned about it as well. She's blushing a little bit; she usually blushes when we find ourselves away from prying eyes.

"Yuu…" she begins timidly, "do you really think I'd be a good president? I can't imagine that I'd be better at it than _you_" she reveals, seemingly in disbelief of the compliment.

I nod my head, making sure to maintain eye contact with her. "There is no question in my mind, Yukiko. You'd be a great president. I think you're a really important part of this town, and the students here think so too. I mean, your family has been running the Inn for so long that you're part of the social fabric of Inaba. Even High School students value that kind of history and dedication."

"Aw, Yuu, that's sweet of you to say. But I'm not sure how much of that can be attributed to me. I should confess that I don't really think that I can _win." _she confides, averting her eyes to the floor and slipping her hands low behind her back. "The truth is I have _another_ reason for doing this."

_Yukiko is the most modest person I know, dear reader. I consider modesty to be endearing; it's another trait that I appreciate. Overconfidence and pomposity suit no one. I know full well what that 'other reason' is simply by the way she holds herself. I'm flattered by her sentiment, honestly._

"Frankly, I'm not sure I can win this thing either. It sort of feels like I'm not quite accepted by everyone in town yet," I admit solemnly.

She looks at me with sympathetic eyes; there seems to be sadness buried in her gaze as well.

"It pains me to say it, but some people in this town are so closed minded. They resist change, and feel threatened by anything they don't know. In fact, a crowd of anti-Junes protesters just marched by before you came along. It was very strange!"

_Do you recall that good news I spoke of, dear reader? There it is. The 'Friends of Inaba Shopping District' have proven to be true friends indeed. Who do you think told them there was a girl staging a protest against Junes in the first place? It was yours truly. I was visiting Junes with Nanako and just happened to come upon Chie as she climbed into that freezer, and the security guards caught her a short time later. I seized a golden opportunity. Granted, I didn't anticipate that they'd arrive on the scene so quickly, or be so successful in getting media attention, but it works to my advantage. I wanted to turn Chie into a local hero, and it seems I've done just that by tapping into the anti-Junes sentiment._

_Poor Yosuke, meanwhile, may simply have to endure the 'Friends of Inaba' for the time being. The things we do for the greater good…._

"Yeah, I spoke to them downstairs. They were looking for Chie, because they think she was part of some kind of protest at Junes yesterday. They wanted to thank her for confronting Junes," I explain.

"A protest against Junes? That doesn't sound like the Chie I know! Are they sure they have the right person? I mean…..that's where she buys her steaks. She loves Junes' steaks!" she blurts, unable to fathom that Chie would engage in such behaviour. She knows her friend well.

"I think the whole thing was a big misunderstanding. I think Yosuke had something to do with it. Chie was _really_ mad at him. I'm not sure what exactly happened between them, but it must have been something pretty bad to get her so worked up. She stormed off halfway through lunch. In any case, she got banned from Junes for a year," I lament.

"What?!" That's so unfair," she shrieks. "What did Yosuke _do_?!"

"I wish I knew. I'm just happy he went after Chie to apologize before that mob showed up. If they would have ran into the 'Prince of Junes', things might have gotten ugly."

"Things might still get ugly for him if I find out he's being a jerk to Chie!" Yukiko stammers. "Where did Chie go anyway?"

"I'm not sure. She ran off after Yosuke said her report card was going to be bad," I reply.

"That _jerk_! As if _he_ should be talking down to her about grades. He's no Einstein himself. I know for a fact that she's been studying really hard!" Yukiko fumes. It's rare that she gets so flustered, but right now her skin tone almost matches her shirt.

"I'll tell Yosuke to think before he speaks from now on," I assure her, trying to calm her down.

She takes a deep breath.

"I think he's got a crush on her to be honest," I confide.

Yukiko's jaw drops. I'm worried for a moment that I've just spoken blasphemy, but her expression relaxes when the cogs in her brain start to move, process the information and accept it.

"He's not so good with girls, is he?" she sighs.

"Nope," I agree bluntly. "Let's head to class before we're late. We wouldn't want to get after school detention with Kashiwagi."

* * *

Yukiko and I enter the classroom together, and I immediately feel a deathly stare on me. My teacher, Ms Kashiwagi seems to be jealous of Yukiko. This is what males in her class must put up with every day. She wants to relive her youth or something, but I don't see any of the girls in class showing that much cleavage. That must have been a thing in the 1980's, back in her glory days.

The bell rings before I have taken my seat. Kashiwagi wastes no time.

"DE-TEN-TION!" she howls as she springs to her hooves, singling me out with a boney index finger. "How many more times must I repeat myself!? _Be on time for class!_ You're supposed to be in here _learning_ with _me, _not gallivanting around with your _insignificant_ _girlfriend! _Do you think you can learn anything from _her!? Do you?! _Now you're going to spend your afternoon helping me finish some paperwork! But don't worry, we might find time for an _extra credit_ assignment."

I decide to bite my lip. I don't want to have detention for _two_ days.

She straightens her blouse and sits back down at her desk. I think she may have undone another button. I'm not looking forward to detention, alone, with this woman…

* * *

AN: I hope some of those elements were funny and I hope some were surprising. So, until next time, may the Force be with you.


	9. Punching Bag

AN: So, Yuu is pretty sneaky isn't he? He'd make a damn good politician! Hopefully he doesn't end up making enemies of his friends. You'll have to read on to find out…

Also, sorry about the long hiatus.

* * *

"Chie….." Yosuke called, short of breath from climbing the stairs to the roof of the High School. He had spent most of his lunch break searching for her and had nearly given up hope before experiencing a moment of clarity. He realized that she'd most likely have gone to the roof; that was the place she would find seclusion.

He found her seated on the vent that protruded from the school with her back towards him. She refused to acknowledge his presence. She continued to look straight ahead toward the horizon.

Yosuke took a few brisk steps towards her, and then halted. He considered his situation, and decided that brashness was the wrong course of action. He slowed his pace, making sure to keep his distance.

"Chie, I came to say I'm sorry...for being a jerk," he murmured.

She remained silent.

"I said I'm sorry," Yosuke croaked louder.

Chie continued to play deaf.

"Come on Chie, I really mean it. Do you forgive me or what? Me and Narukami need you to come back downstairs so we can win this stupid election," he begged.

Chie pouted and released a deflated sigh. She wanted to continue ignoring Yosuke, but the fact that _other _people were relying on her made her feel guilty.

"So what do you say, will you forgive me?" Yosuke pleaded. In that instant he was sure Chie's kind nature would pull through and she would rejoin them downstairs.

Chie however had no intention of letting him off the hook so easily. She stiffened up and became a stone. Silence once again loomed over them.

"Chie….I want you to hit me," Yosuke finally choked.

Chie's ears perked up. She pondered whether she heard him correctly.

"Yeah…I want you to hit me, "He stated again. "It'll make you feel better. To be honest, I kind of deserve it after all the dumb things I've said and done. I shouldn't treat you like that. I haven't been a very good friend lately."

"_What is this idiot saying now_?" Chie thought to herself. "_He wants me to hit him?!"_

Yosuke opened his stance and planted his feet firmly. He huffed up his chest, opening himself up for a blow. "Come on Chie, you know I deserve it! Besides, how often do you get to use your martial arts on anything but shadows? It'll be good for you," he encouraged, sounding excited about the prospect of getting punched in the gut.

Chie bit her bottom lip. She felt like telling him to shut his trap and grow up, but she found herself spinning around to face him.

Yosuke felt ashamed when he saw her face. He could tell that she'd been crying. He'd never thought of her as a person that cried.

As Chie stared on, Yuu's words rang in her head. '_An old married couple'_ he had called them. She'd been resistant to the idea that there was an attraction between them, but she'd slowly found herself unable to pretend otherwise. There was _something_ that couldn't be dismissed. She wasn't sure how to classify it, but whatever it was, she was sure that it was the reason Yosuke's teasing upset her so much. The rumours she'd heard truly upset her, and he'd treated it has a joke. She felt betrayed by her own feelings.

Yosuke forced a smile and goaded Chie to strike. "Come on Chie, I'm wide open. This is your one chance at a freebie."

Chie looked on in disbelief. "_What kind of person does this?_" she asked herself."_He's totally nuts."_

Despite her better judgment, Chie hopped to her feet. She considered that perhaps her subconscious was now in total control, and forcing her body to seek sweet revenge against the boy that so often pushed her buttons.

"Atta girl!" Yosuke cheered. "Show me what ya got!"

Chie leered at Yosuke. "_Am I actually going to do this_?" she wondered, hoping that her conscience would triumph over her baser desirers. She took several steps towards him.

Yosuke braced himself for a solid punch, tightening up his core.

As Chie stepped closer, she began to feel sorry for Yosuke. She didn't want to _hurt him. _He probably didn't consider that. What if she _did_ hurt him? _She_ would be held accountable. The school didn't look lightly on violence between students, even if one student _wanted_ to be hit. She resolved to hold back and not hit him with her full strength. That way, he would be able to give Yosuke peace of mind and she could sleep easy knowing he didn't have a ruptured spleen. She balled her right hand into a fist and drew back, low and near her waist.

She looked him in the eye before continuing, and Yosuke gave a single nod to indicate he was prepared.

She let the punch fly.

Yosuke stepped out of the way delicately, dodging the blow. Chie stumbled forward but found her footing without tripping to the ground.

Chie's eyes bulged as she turned towards Yosuke.

Yosuke stood pleadingly with his palms showing.

Chie glowered at him.

"What the hell….." she chided.

"Sorry Chie, but you scared me…" he stammered.

"You said you _wanted_ me to hit you…"

"And I still do! But my survival instincts took over," Yosuke insisted.

Chie gritted her teeth. She had planned on pulling her punches, but Yosuke continued to tease her even while trying to _apologize. _She ruled that he deserved a _proper_ sock in the gut for that.

Yosuke again opened himself up to attack. Chie moved in faster than before, but met the same result. Yosuke dodged the punch and she stumbled forward. She spun around to face him, clenching her fists the whole while.

The subtle smirk that appeared on Yosuke's face sent Chie over the edge. She let out a war cry and charged toward him.

Yosuke hadn't anticipated an all out assault, in fact he hadn't anticipated dodging the punches either. His instincts _had _been responsible and he reacted in the moment. With Chie bearing down on him he closed his eyes and readied for a potentially fatal blow.

Yosuke opened his eyes after a few seconds when Chie's fists never arrived. Instead, Chie had a tight grip on his t-shirt, her arm cocked. She seemingly _wanted_ to hit him, but it was obvious she could not bring herself to do it.

"So, are we cool then?" Yosuke asked.

Chie let go of his shirt and he fell down. A crunching sound echoed atop the school when he landed.

"Crap," Yosuke groaned, "I think I just landed on my phone. It was in my back pocket." While still seated on the ground, he dug his phone out of his pants and confirmed his fears. The screen was shattered and wires were exposed. Bits of plastic and several letters from the keyboard drifted away in the wind.

Chie groaned and squatted down in front of him. She was angry at herself for going through with yet another one of Yosuke's ideas. She knew beforehand nothing positive ever came of them, only humiliation and regret for _her._

"Is it that bad? Can't we tape it together?" Chie asked.

"_Tape?! _No way, it's trash now," Yosuke moaned.

"Lemme see it," she demanded softly.

Yosuke dumped the wreckage into her hand. Indeed, it was totally destroyed. Chie stood up and offered Yosuke her hand to help him from the ground.

Yosuke grabbed her hand and she pulled him off of the ground with ease. Yosuke landed back on two feet, and found himself face to face with Chie. Their eyes inadvertently locked, and they both seemed to pause. It took a moment for them realize that they we still holding hands, yet neither let go. Their eyes remained glued together as they wondered who would let go first.

"_Real people don't find themselves in contrived situations like this, do they_?" both of them contemplated.

Neither had much experience with relationships or love so neither was sure what do to next. Each waited for the other to say or do something…to do _anything!_

Chie gazed at him with mixed feelings in her heart. "_What..the hell? This is awkward…but something feels natural about it_," she thought. "_Yosuke?! Of all people, why is it Yosuke that is giving me a feeling like this? This guy? This total jerk? Why now? Him?! He acts like an idiot all the time around me. He's not like that around other girls. He's a major klutz around other girls. He's shy and awkward with them. With me, he seems like himself. I guess even if he is an idiot…he's MY idiot…"_

Similar worries clouded Yosuke's mind. "_Geeez…is Narukami right? Are we secretly attracted to each other? Are we really supposed to end up as an old married couple?! Yuu, why'd you have to go and say that!? Now it seems like I don't even have a say in any of it. But…isn't Chie the kind of girl I like anyway? She's fun to hang around, and she puts up with me goofing off. Isn't it natural to fall for someone who accepts you for who you are?"_

Yosuke now knew what to do. He spoke.

"Chie, I really am _sorry_," he said gently.

An unfamiliar feeling swept over both of them, and they moved closer and closer together. It seemed inevitable that they would share a kiss. Their lips barely brushed together when the door in the corner flew open and the rowdy 'Friends of Inaba' mob spilled onto the roof.

The mob gasped in unison when they spotted Chie. Next, they collectively let out a cheer and chanted her name.

Still pressed close to Yosuke, Chie stared on in total confusion.

Yosuke was close enough that he was able to feel Chie's heart pound harder when the crowd approached.

When the crowd recognized Yosuke they all jeered.

'Minion of Junes!" the leader shouted. "Unhand her!"

Yosuke struggled to wrap his brain around what was happening. The crowd surged forward and enveloped him and Chie. He found himself being lifted and pulled away from her.

"What the hell are you guys doing?" Chie scolded the crowd.

"We're here to show how much we support your protest against Junes, Chie," the leader cooed. "You've got all of our support in the election too! This twerp, however, will _never_ be elected as long as we live and breathe!"

"What are you doing with him?" Chie asked sternly.

"He's with _Junes! _He wants to destroy this town! We don't want him to be near you! He doesn't deserve to be close to you! We're going to put him where he belongs," someone within the mob answered.

The crowd held Yosuke over their heads as they hauled him away. Chie began to fear for his safety. They seemed to be heading towards the edge of the building. Her heart raced when she considered that they might throw him over the side.

Before Chie could scream the crowd took a sharp turn and tossed Yosuke, upside down, into a garbage can that sat on the roof. A grotesque squishing sound rang out; it seemed the can hadn't been emptied in some time.

Yosuke could be heard gagging from within the aluminum can. His legs beat wildly as he tried to free himself. Eventually, the can tipped over and he wiggled out of it, reeking of rotten food and garbage. He gagged again and gasped for fresh air.

Despite their claim that they had come to support Chie, the crowd departed after deposing of Yosuke. Chie trotted over to him to see if he was alright. She knelt down over him.

Despite being filthy and absolutely dejected Yosuke forced a smile and made a bold move.

"How do you feel about, you know, going for a coffee, or some steaks…or whatever, sometime? Just the two of us?" he asked.

"…Sure….idiot," she answered tenderly.

* * *

AN: That was probably the most fun chapter to write thus far. I love Chie's character, and really like how she and Yosuke contrast in the game. I think they'd make a dynamic pair, so I went that route in the story. A little fluffy perhaps, so consider it literary junk food :P Some darker chapters are in the works however.


	10. Here's To You, Ms Kashiwagi

Well it's been a very long time. I've had this chapter on the back burner for a while, but was struggling over some of the finer points. With any luck, I'll be able to turn out some chapters much quicker than this one. I Hope you enjoy this one!

* * *

On normal days, I look forward to hearing the final buzzer ring. It signals that sweet freedom has arrived and that the remaining hours of the day are mine to use as I see fit. Today isn't a normal day however.

I've got after school detention with Kashiwagi.

In about forty minutes this class will end, the bell will toll and my classmates will filter out of the room. I'll be left all alone, subjected to her whims. If only there was a TV in the class, I might be able to slip into it and take my chances against the shadows.

She's up at the front of the class now with her back turned towards us as she scribbles something on the blackboard. I haven't been able to pay any attention to the lesson at all, so I'm not sure what she is writing. Since I took my seat, I've been desperately scanning the room for an escape route. So far it's been a futile endeavor, but I keep searching.

As my head swivels, I make eye contact with Yukiko who sits beside me. She can see the terror building in my eyes. With each passing minute I'm getting more and more desperate to escape my fate.

Yukiko smiles and leans across the narrow aisle between our desks.

"I'm so sorry," she whispers, "It's my fault we were late, and that you got detention."

"It's not your fault," I assure her with a shrug. "I think she would have found a reason to keep me after school no matter what."

Yukiko's lip starts to curl into a smile.

'But I'll tell you what," I continue, "help me tunnel out of here and I'll owe you one. We just need to find a shovel."

Yukiko nearly bursts into one of her laughing fits, but she is able to contain herself by placing both hands over her mouth. She only lets out a grunting sound, which causes Kashiwagi to spin around and scan over the students. Luckily, she quickly goes back to writing on the board.

Yukiko manages to get her laughter under wraps for now, but I notice she is turning red. Holding the laughs at bay is making her want to laugh even harder. Thankfully, she regains her composure with a gulp.

"Don't make me laugh like that in class," she pleads with a smirk.

I smile back at her deviously. She notices the abnormal look I am giving her.

"What is it?" she questions.

"Oh, I just got an idea. If I send you into one of your giggle fits, you might end up in detention with me. If I'm not alone, I might be saved from _untold horrors_" I reply quietly.

She doesn't burst into laughter at my comment this time. Instead, she reaches a hand across the aisle and places it on top of mine.

"I didn't know you were so frightened! If you're _that_ scared, maybe I'll try to get detention on purpose. It wouldn't be good if calamity befell our dear leader," she quips.

I place my other hand on top of hers. "Normally I'd say that if you've got my back, I've got yours. But you don't have to do that for me. It won't be that bad…..I hope" I reply with uncertainty.

Her smile widens with my hand rested on hers.

"Well I suppose it can't be helped," she concludes. "But I wanted to ask you, before you got detention I mean, after school…are you doing anything…do you have plans I mean? I was hoping we might be able to spend some time together….you know, maybe….just you and me.."

If I'm not mistaken, she's trying to ask me if I'd like to go on a date with her. She's showing a lot of courage, as I can see she is battling her innate shyness. I know she likes me, but she has a hard time expressing her feelings like this. I mirror her smile.

Before I can offer a reply, there is a knock on the door and Kashiwagi stops mid-sentence. She turns toward the door and peers through the narrow window. From my seat, I can't see who is on the other side, but I hear Kashiwagi release an audible sigh and scowl. It must be one of her female students, as she usually reserves that kind of contempt for them.

She waves for the person to enter. The door slides open to reveal two familiar faces in the hallway; Chie and Yosuke.

They nervously enter the room together and stand near the door.

"Um, sorry we're late for class," Yosuke begins, "we..um..we…"

Kashiwagi crosses her arms and glares at Yosuke, awaiting an explanation.

"Umm, it's just that, we were…uh…," Yosuke stumbles over his words, not knowing where to begin.

"Don't strain yourself," Kashiwagi interrupts. "I understand perfectly. You and your girlfriend were likely off in some broom closet somewhere, probably half undressed…."

The entire class lets out an extended jeer in unison, and I even hear someone whistle. Naturally, Chie looks mortified but remains silent with her head down. Yosuke seems to take it as a compliment with a goofy grin.

Kashwagi's expression hardens and she seems to be considering what to say to the pair.

_This could be good, dear reader. It looks like I won't be alone in detention after all. Chie and Yosuke are over fifteen minutes late! She's got to give them detention for that! Plus she thinks they skipped class trying to get to first base. That's got to be punishable._

"Well, I suppose that kind of behaviour is natural for kids your age. But don't do it again during school hours."

"Wh…wha….what do you mean by _do it_?" Chie stutters before rushing to her seat. The class lets out another jeer.

"Just take your seats and follow the rest of the lesson," Kashiwagi instructs. She glances at me as she speaks.

_I'm in disbelief, dear reader. She let them off the hook deliberately to spite me. And that look in her eye, it said 'you're mine!' I've got a bad feeling about this…._

Chie and Yosuke creep toward their seats. As Yosuke nears me I am overtaken by the stench emanating from him. He utterly reeks! Kashiwagi thought they were making out somewhere, but it smells like they were up to something much dirtier than that. My face contorts into a grimace and I try to hold my breath.

When he finds his seat, I lean toward him. "Yosuke, no offense, but you reek! What the hell have you been doing!" I whisper.

Yosuke slouches in his chair. "Well, I ended up face first in a garbage can, courtesy of '_The Friend of Inaba Shopping District,_" he replies.

"Huh? Did you get into a fight or something?" I ask.

"No, I got attacked by a mob! Apparently I am destroying this town because I work at Junes…" he whispers back.

I look at him with a dumbfounded expression.

"Those crazy idiots picked him up and tossed him in a garbage can," Chie cuts in. "And they thought they were doing it for MY benefit! Apparently they think I staged some kind of protest against Junes. So they barged onto the roof and basically swore loyalty to me in the election. But they were not happy to see the Prince of Junes," she continues, nodding toward Yosuke.

"If you ask me, Yosuke's going to have a harder time than we thought getting elected. There were a lot of people in that mob, and they were pretty clear that they aren't voting for Yosuke Hanumura!"

_Well this is interesting dear reader. That group has given their support to Chie, just as I intended, but now they've decided that Yosuke is their enemy. What does this mean for me? I'm sure this appears as quite the predicament, but that's only because you don't see my entire plan. In fact, this may even make my victory easier. Yosuke is going to have to take one for the team here. I do feel bad for him, but once I win this election and explain everything to him, he'll agree that it was the right thing to do._

* * *

Zero hour has arrived. The bell rings, and my classmates begin gathering their things and racing toward the door. Yukiko stands up but I tug on her sleeve before she departs.

"You're right. We should spend some time together soon. I'll call you if I make it out of here alive. We should do something over the next day or two," I suggest.

"Absolutely!" She replies with an explosive smile. She is relieved to see that I'm interested. "I'll keep my fingers crossed that you make it out of here in one piece. I'll wait for your call!" she giggles before trotting to the door.

However, Kashiwagi halts the class. It seems she has an announcement.

"Class, don't forget that you get your reports cards tomorrow!" she shouts over the rabble of the escaping students. "Some of you have impressed me with your performance in this term, while others need to learn to apply themselves! If you're unsatisfied with your results tomorrow, you only have yourself to blame!"

"You hear that Yosuke?" Chie remarks. "It's _the end of the line_ for you tomorrow. You'll be in cram school before you know it."

"Pssh, keep telling yourself that Chie. You should be worried about your own grades. Like I told you before, since my parents threatened me with cram school if my grades don't improve, I've been applying myself much harder," Yosuke says dismissively.

They both laugh off their squabbling. It's funny, during lunch the same conversation led to a big fight between them, now they're content to jab at each other. Something _must_ have happened between them after they ran off

"Cram school?" I ask. "Are your grades _that_ bad Yosuke?"

"No way bro!" he insists with confidence. "My parents were threatening me with cram school if my grades didn't improve, but it actually motivated me. My grades are gonna be fine!"

Without more conversation, my friends depart. I remain in my seat silently as the last person leaves the room. The door is still open, almost daring me to make a run for it. But it's too late for me…..

Kashiwagi moves back to her desk and takes her seat. She begins typing on her computer. The tapping of the keys is the only sound that fills the room for what seems like eons. She doesn't so much as glance in my direction or acknowledge that I am present. Has she forgotten about me? No! She's toying with me….

Eight minutes pass before she finally looks up and feigns surprise.

"Oh! You're still here! How silly of me to forget," she chuckles ominously.

Our eyes are locked and I feel queasy. Her eyes shine like a predator about to pounce.

She rises from her seat and leans across her desk towards me, giving me a view directly down her blouse. I bite my lower lip.

"Now the question is what to do with you?" she asks. The tone of her voice suggests she's already made up her mind.

"Come over here," she instructs, waving me over with her finger.

I find myself unable to disobey. I march towards her while whispering prayers under my breath. I stop in front of her desk, but she motions for me to come to join her on the other side. Once again, I don't have any option but to adhere to her command.

As I stand over her she sits upright in her chair and stares up at me with a menacing look of hunger in her eyes. She purposely has her back slightly arched to make her chest look even bigger. I'm not sure why she thinks that is necessary, I get the point already. This is just _overkill_….

"I have a mountain of paperwork to do today," she informs. "As punishment, you're going to help me complete it."

"Yes ma'am" I reply. Paperwork shouldn't be too bad, I think to myself.

"Take a seat," she instructs. But there is only on chair behind her desk. She pats the arm of her chair gently. Oh God, this is going to get worse before it gets better.

I reluctantly do so, and my mind immediately recalls Chie sitting on my lap during 'The King's Game.' I think this is as uncomfortable for me as that was for her. But Kashiwagi's orders are absolute I guess…

I take my place by her side and await further orders. She nudges closer toward me in her chair before sliding open a drawer and removing some files. It looks like spread sheets. She hands me the sheets, and I see they are filled with numbers.

"So this is what you will be doing. I need to input all of the information on these forms into the computer. It's going to go a lot faster if you read out the data to me and I type in." she says in a whisper, as she's basically leaning against me at this point.

_I look at the forms she hands me and I am astounded, dear reader. Once I understand what this data is, I see a golden opportunity before me and I will seize it. However, I'll have to do some acting with Kashiwagi if I'm to be successful. I'll swallow my pride for now._

I begin reading out the numbers and she just a quickly punches the numbers into her computer. Ninety two, seventy six, eighty eight; it is monotonous work.

Figuring there is no time like the present to act, I prepare to spring into action. I do a quick self check.

Calm and confident demeanor: Check

Dapper school uniform: Check

Collar popped: Check

The timeless art of seduction begins. I simply need to distract her for a brief moment.

I allow one of the papers to slip from my hand and fall onto Kashiwagi's lap.

"I'm sorry ma'am," I say as I reach for the paper. I make sure that my hand brushes against her thigh when I reach for it. That gets her attention. A blissful smile appears on her face, but she is quick to hide it.

She turns to face me, and I put on a smile.

"You seem quite happy to be in detention," she comments.

"Yes ma'am," I reply.

"Well that's perfect, because I'm happy you're here too. It can be so lonely once my classes finish for the day. And a woman like me has certain _needs_ that can't go unanswered for long."

"Needs?" I reply coyly.

"Oh, that's right," she says with a grin, "I sometimes forget that you must not be well versed in _womanly needs_. To learn these things, you just need the right _teacher_." She's looking me directly in the eye and biting her lower lip in anticipation of things that I would rather not think about.

"I can be a teacher, in more ways than one you know. I'm sure I could teach you _many things _that you won't learn on your own."

"What kind of things?" I inquire.

"_All_ kinds of things," she chirps. "You just need to use your imagination." She puts a hand on my leg and squeezes my thigh.

"Miss Kashiwagi, you're trying to seduce me." I state playfully

She chuckles quietly

"….aren't you?' I question.

"What would you prefer to hear?"

"I'd prefer less talk and more action," I reply. In response, she begins drawing even closer to me. She runs her finger down my chest.

She smirks devilishly. "Mr. Narukami, you are a bad one today aren't you?"

"Bad enough to end up in detention," I reply. That animalistic expression reappears on her face.

As she loses herself in fantasy, I reach around her and hit a few keys on the keyboard. I rearrange and eighty three into a thirty eight and hit enter. Mission accomplished. Kashiwagi is so taken in by me that she doesn't even notice.

"Alas, this isn't the ideal location to continue. The walls here are paper thin. Should someone _hear us, _we'd be in trouble. Something about you tells me that things would be rather _loud_. Although that thought does make my heart race!"

I'm astounded. Would she really go through with it? Thankfully she has even a modicum of common sense to realize she'd get caught!

"Your _lesson_ will have to wait until another time," she tells me. "For now, I've got to print of these documents. You're free to go. Consider it a get out of jail free card for being so….agreeable."

She wastes no time getting up and heading out the door to the printer in the main office. I release an exasperated sigh. I feel dirty, and feel like I need a long shower.

* * *

Again, I hope to have another chapter up sooner rather than later. The time away from the story has allowed me to plan out how I want the next 3 or 4 chapters to unfold. And if you're so inclined, leave a review or a comment.


	11. House of Report Cards

**AN: **Another one comin' at ya! Chie And Yosuke are front and center again in chapter 11, so I hope ya like it!

* * *

On Tuesday morning, Yosuke launched out of bed. For the first time in as long as he could remember, he was eager to go to school. By the end of the day, he'd have his mid-term report card in his hands, and he'd surprise his parents with what he was confident would be, at the very worst, a healthy collection of B's. He'd make them proud with his improved grades, and finally put to rest his fears of being sent to cram school. He had far more important things to do with his afternoons than go to cram school, like fight shadows and win an election. Perhaps most pressing, he had to find out when Chie had some free time. He didn't want to leave what was happening between them in limbo.

Normally a typical groggy teenager in the morning, Yosuke moved briskly through his morning routine. Within minutes, he was in and out of the shower and back in his room getting dressed. He threw on his fresh pressed school uniform and scooped up his headphones, placed them over his ears and cranked the music. He felt like his good mood demanded a soundtrack.

He danced his way down the stairs, pirouetting past his mother who gazed at him bemusedly. She was not accustomed to seeing him so upbeat in the morning. She asked why he was in such high spirits, but he didn't hear her over the blare of his music as he continued to the kitchen.

"Alight!" Yosuke exclaimed upon discovering a breakfast of bacon, eggs and fruit waiting for him on the kitchen table. It wasn't often that his parents prepared breakfast for him. Taking his seat at the table, he continued to bop his head to his music while shoveling bacon into his mouth. Even the taste of bacon seemed to be enhanced that morning. The bacon reminded him of Chie, a thought he immediately decided he would keep to himself.

When he finished eating, he moon-walked to the dishwasher and deposited his plate and utensils. After that, the only thing left to do was grab his school bag at the front door and head to class. When he stepped through the front door, he was pleased to feel the sun beating down on him, along with a gentle cooling breeze.

"Wow, talk about a perfect day!" he announced to himself aloud as he began the walk to Yasogami High. Had he checked the weather forecast, however, he would have seen that storm clouds were moving into the region.

* * *

Although he'd committed himself rigorously throughout the semester, every class that day was a 'write off' for Yosuke. He was so excited that he found it impossible to concentrate. He simply wanted the final bell to ring so he could get his report card. He was so distracted that morning that he completely forgot to remove his headphones for the first class. Thirty minutes into a history lecture he began singing along to his music, causing everyone in the room to stare at him. When he finally realized that all eyes were on him, he abruptly stopped singing. The second he embarrassingly removed his head phones, the entire class roared with laughter, even the teacher. Nonetheless, the teacher did confiscate the Mp3 player for the rest of the day.

"You've got a beautiful singing voice," Yuu quipped as Yosuke returned from turning over his Mp3 player.

"Oh, come on man! Settle down! I'm in a good mood, so what!" he replied.

"Well, I hope it's justified my friend. I hope your grades are as high as you think," Yuu responded.

"I've got no doubt in my mind!" Yosuke hummed triumphantly.

As the lecture continued, Yosuke was disturbed by something poking his back. Chie, who sat behind him, was trying to get his attention. Yosuke swiveled in his seat to face her.

"What are ya poking me for?" he inquired.

"Don't forget that you offered to tutor me if your grades are good," Chie answered bashfully.

Yosuke grinned confidently. "Oh, they will be!" he replied.

"Well, I know I'm not….so strong in math and I could probably use a tutor. So you better be a man of your word!" she scolded.

"Have I ever been one to lie, Chie? Of course I'll help you," he assured.

"Oh…."she continued nervously, "and don't forget that we're…you know..supposed to go for steaks..or coffee..or whatever sometime soon."

Yosuke smiled and laughed internally at Chie's timid demeanour. "J_ust call it a date Chie, sheesh. We're gonna go on a date. Is that such a big deal?_," he thought to himself.

"Does after school today work for you?" he said aloud.

"You bet!" Chie beamed.

"How about we take our scooters somewhere?" Yosuke suggested.

Chie nodded vigorously in response with a wide smile plastered across her face. It dawned on her that this was unmistakeably a _date_. She'd never gone on a genuine date before so the whole prospect was exciting to her.

* * *

When lunchtime rolled around Yosuke, Yuu and Chie planted themselves behind a familiar desk. Again, Rise attempted to rally support for their campaign. Some students had actually shown interest this time and sat down to talk. Yosuke continually checked over his shoulder to make sure a 'Friends of Inaba' mob wasn't barreling down the hall to torment him.

The candidate trio discovered that many other students were disappointed with the lack of school clubs and their constant cancellation. It was beginning to feel as if they stood a chance of winning.

As lunch break was coming to a close, Rise took a seat in front of the table.

"Man, I'm bummed. Standing up for so long is draining," she sighed.

"Thanks again for doing this for us Rise," Yuu replied. "I'll have to pay you back somehow."

"I can think of a way Senpai," she whispered, fluttering her eyes.

As usual, Yu's expression was unreadable.

"I'm just teasing you Senpai!" Rise giggled. "But honestly, you should hang out with me after school. I could really use your help with something."

"What is it?" Yuu inquired.

"You'll have to wait and see. It's kind of personal!"

"Well you've piqued my curiosity. After school then?" asked Yuu.

"Yeah!" Rise squealed happily.

* * *

The afternoon classes passed quickly and the final bell rang at last. Of all the students in the class, only Yosuke seemed enthralled to hear the bell.

A deathly silence filled the room as Kashiwagi stood up with a pile of report cards in her arms. She began calling names, and students scampered one by one to receive their card.

Yosuke could barely contain himself. His legs twitched and he tapped his desk loudly with his finger. When his name was finally called, he bounced to his feet and pumped the air with a fist.

"Mr. Hanamura, please don't make a scene. Just come receive your report card quietly," Kashiwagi said wryly.

Yosuke trotted to her happily, accepted his report card and returned victoriously to his seat. He looked around and saw his friends were already looking at their cards. He wasted no time removing his from the envelope; he just _had_ to see how he stacked up against his friends.

The world slowed down for Yosuke as his eyes scrolled down the card. Something failed to compute, and was causing a glitch in his brain.

The first few grades were decent, one was less than he would have hoped, and one was a clear mistake.

"_Thirty eight in Kashiwagi's class_?" he thought to himself. "_That can't be right_…"

"Um, Miss. I think you made a mistake on my report card!" Yosuke objected as stood up.

Kashiwagi sighed. "Like I said yesterday, if you're not happy with your results you only have _yourself_ to blame."

"But Miss," he continued, his voice starting to tremble. "This says I _failed_ your class. That's…that's just not possible. I mean, I refuse to believe it!"

"If you refuse to believe the sky is blue, it doesn't make the sky a different color! If the card says you failed, you failed!" Kashiwagi blasted. "Maybe if you paid more attention to your teacher, like Mr. Narukami has, you'd have passed!"

Kashiwagi's comment caused many of the students to snicker.

At that moment Yosuke experienced a total system failure. His face contorted in all manners as he searched for the words for a convincing argument. He emitted a few nasal squeaks and guttural squawks, but nothing that resembled language. He found himself gasping for air. He fell back in his chair and his friends jumped to his aid.

His friends noticed immediately the way that he stared off into space, as if he was focused on something that no one else could see. Unblinking and unmoving, he appeared to be a statue. For several minutes, he did not respond to any external stimuli. Not Yuu snapping his fingers, not Chie nudging him and not Teddie shaking him rather intensely.

"I think he's gone catatonic! Maybe we should call the school nurse!" Chie suggested.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," he croaked, finally coming back to life and greatly relieving his friends.

"Sorry buddy, you'll do better next semester," Yuu encouraged him.

"Thirty eight percent…how…?" Yosuke asked under his breath.

"Yosuke, what happened? You seemed to be doign so well on all the tests!" a very concerned and confused Yukiko asked.

"Thirty friggin' eight!?" Yosuke sobbed, still tuned out from his friends.

"It's not the end of the world, I mean, you passed _some_ courses" Teddie pointed out.

"I'm going to cram school…" Yosuke stated with a blank expression.

The group remained silent while they exchanged glances.

"My carefree days are over….." he lamented

"Sports. Clubs. Weekends. Girls…..I won't get to enjoy any of them anymore….." he continued.

Before long, Kashiwagi was shoeing the student out of the classroom. Yuu and Yukiko lifted Yosuke to his feet and guided him out the door.

* * *

The trip home was a blur to Yosuke. One way or another, he had found his way out of the school and down the familiar road that led to his house, but the journey was totally vacant from his memory. When he arrived at his front door, he felt as if he had just snapped out of a dream.

"_Huh, what…how did I get here_?" he thought to himself. As he entered his home, he found himself slipping back into that dream state, where time had no bearing and he seemed to move rudderless through space.

His parents were home and waiting in the kitchen. They were eager as he was to view his grades, as they needed to know if they'd be paying for cram school. Yosuke tossed the card on the table where they sat and awaited judgement.

Yosuke was confused, surprised and ultimately worried about the reaction of his parents upon viewing his report card. He expected to receive a lengthy speech about the importance of a quality education and that he was squandering his chances at getting into a good college. What he received was somewhat more muted, and for that reason, much more terrifying. His parents examined his report card and simply reminded him of the prior arrangement; his grades were not up to par, so he would be spending his afternoons at cram school. And that was that.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Yosuke paced back and forth in his room while mulling over his unfortunate fate. His concentration was broken when his phone rang. He picked it up and looked at the caller ID.

Chie.

"Hey, Yosuke, how'd they take it?" she asked before he could even say hello.

"Pretty well, all things considered…." he replied, unsure if he had read his parents accurately.

"Let go do something, like, right now. I figure you'd wanna clear your head," Chie suggested energetically.

"Right now? I'm not sure if I'm in the mood to be honest…." Yosuke moaned.

"Oh come on. Are ya gonna mope around all night instead? It'll be fun, and it'll be good for you! Plus you promised we'd hang out!"

"Yeah, you're right. I've got to live my life, right? And a promise is a promise," he replied.

"Can you come pick me up? My scooter is having some problems right now," Chie explained.

"Is there gas in it?" he asked.

"Psh, do you think I'd be that clueless? Gimme some credit here!" Chie fired back.

"Sorry, just trying to help. I'll come right over," he confirmed.

* * *

When he arrived at Chie's house, she was already waiting outside with her helmet in hand. Yosuke pulled his scooter up to the door and idled while she jogged over and hopped on the seat behind him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and held on tight. Yosuke immediately headed toward town.

"So do you have any idea what's wrong with your scooter? Is it making funny noises or anything?"

"Oh, um, not really. It all seems normal," she called loudly over the sound of the humming scooter.

"Is it having trouble starting?" Yosuke inquired further, hoping to impress her with an understanding of scooter mechanics that he did not actually posses.

Chie sighed.

"I'll come clean with you Yosuke. Nothing is wrong with my scooter, I just thought you could use a hug to cheer you up," she explained as she tightened he arms around her friend.

Yosuke was about to grumble, but as Chie pulled herself closer to him the warmth of her embrace made him think otherwise.

"If you think I need a hug, you can just give me a hug. You don't need to be all secret about it. I'm all for free hugs," he replied with a laugh.

Chie tightened her arms around his waist in response.

"I appreciate the thought Chie, I really do. Thanks. But I'm gonna be alright. Sure, I'm gonna be pretty bummed for the next few weeks, but I'll make it through!" he buzzed with optimism.

"I know you will! You've never been one to give up!" she cheered.

"Maybe we should get some Junes steaks," Yosuke suggested.

"I'm banned for Junes for one year! Don't tell me you forgot already?" she reminded him.

Yosuke scolded himself. "Oh, right! How about Aiya then?"

"Sounds good to me," she agreed.

Yosuke revved his scooter and averted course toward the shopping district. He decided to take the long way so he could savour a few extra moments with Chie's arms wrapped around him.

* * *

Finally arriving at their destination, Yosuke found a parking space close to the restaurant and the pair dismounted the scooter.

Yosuke removed his helmet and ran a hand through his matted hair. "Well, we're here. I dunno about you, but I think a beef bowl will help drown my sorrows away," he joked.

"Now we're talkin'!" Chie answered enthusiastically."Let's go!"

Chie led the way into Aiya, and received a familiar welcome. She'd been a loyal Aiya customer for years, after all. She dragged Yosuke to a corner booth where they sat across from each other.

"So what did _your_ parents say about _your_ grades?" Yosuke asked.

Chie was surprised to hear him bring up the subject of grades. She'd assumed he'd want to talk about _anything else in the world_ but grades.

"Well, my grades were okay I suppose, so they weren't angry or anything. They want me to continue to do better of course. I mean, there is room for improvement, but as least I didn't fail anything," she answered, immediately feeling a chill run up her spine over how she phrased her response. She didn't want to make it sound as if she happy that her grades were better than Yosuke's.

"Don't worry Chie," Yosuke responded, as he noticed how she cringed. "I'm happy you passed everything."

Chie sighed in relief. "Thanks."

"I'm starting cram school tomorrow," Yosuke informed.

"What?!" Chie said, aghast. "So soon?"

"Yeah," he replied solemnly. "I guess my parents didn't expect too much out of me. They booked me into a cram school weeks ago. They said they want me to start improving my grades _immediately_."

A wounded expression appeared on Chie's face. The thought that his parents didn't have trust in created a rotten feeling in her stomach.

"I'll be at cram school every day. Right after regular classes end, I've got to go home so my mom can drive me to evening classes."

"That's a total bummer," she lamented. "Like, when are we ever gonna see each other outside of school now?"

"I'm not sure," he replied. "I guess that's reason to make today count, right?"

Chie pondered the meaning of that statement, and grinned when her imagination started to wander.

"Yeah, seize the day and what not, right?" she asked.

"Exactly," Yosuke confirmed with a nod.

When the waitress arrived Yosuke and Chie decided to split a bottomless beef bowl, certain that if they worked together they could defeat it.

"So what about the election?" Chie inquired.

"Oh, that's right. I completely forgot about that. I guess I'll keep helping out, but I'm not gonna have time for making posters, or trying to drum up support and that kind of thing," he replied.

"Plus those 'Friends on Inaba' jerks seem intent on giving you a hard time…' she added

"Yeah, that too," Yosuke said with a dejected sigh.

"People like that..I just don't _get_ them. It's like Yuu was saying, some people in small towns like this one like to treat others as outsiders, and make them feel unwelcome They're just afraid of _change_," Chie sighed.

"Yeah, some people are just going to be like that," Yosuke noted.

"It's such a shame too. If they got to know you they'd see what a great guy you are. Well….what a great guy you _can be_ when you're not being _a total jerk_," Chie teased.

Yosuke smiled at the playful jab.

"This election stuff isn't that important you know. You don't need to keep doing to it. Not when you've got a full plate as it is," Chie continued.

"You think I should quit?"

"I don't want you to be miserable. And if you don't need to worry about getting attacked by a mob, and don't need to use what little free time you have trying to run an election, I think you will be a little happier," she replied.

"Yeah, you're probably right," he agreed. "Still, do you think Yuu will be disappointed?'

"Naahhhhhh! He knows that the election isn't the most important thing in the world. He cares about his friends way more than he cares about winning some stupid election," she said cheerfully.

"Well then, I guess my political career is over as of today," he announced.

The waitress arrived a short time later and placed the enormous bowl of beef in the middle of the table. Yosuke graded a fork and prepared to dig in.

Before he could, Chie ducked under the table and crawled to his side of the booth.

"Chie, someone is gonna see you! What are ya doing?" Yosuke called frantically to her under the table.

"Seizing the day!" she announced when she emerged on Yosuke's side of the table. She nestled herself close to him and grabbed a fork, and began attacking the meat dish.

"Seizing the day, huh?"

"Yeah! Let's try to have a good time, regardless of elections and cram school and crazy mobs! We are on a date right? Let's at least enjoy the time together!"

Yosuke smiled as he watched her skewer more meat with her fork. He resolved to take her advice and enjoy their night.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, they had given up their battle with the beef. Despite their valiant attempt, the meat had bested them.

"I 'm so stuffed," Chie moaned.

"Me either," Yosuke huffed. "I don't think I can get up."

"I never thought I'd say this, but I don't want to eat any more meat. This might convince me to become a vegetarian," Chie groaned.

"Let's just…sit here for a while," he suggested, breathing heavily.

The waitress returned and asked if they would like the leftovers to go, but both agreed that they did not want to see beef again for a long time.

"Oh, before I forget," Yosuke began, "I brought something for you." He fished a Junes shopping bag out of his backpack and handed to Chie.

Chie peeked into the bag and smiled. She removed a new copy of 'Trial of the Dragon.'

"Awesome! Thanks Yosuke!" she exclaimed.

"No need to thank me. I did kind of _owe_ it to you, remember?"

"Still, I'm thankful that you bought it," she said as she gave him a friendly hug. Yosuke hugged her in return.

"Know what the funny thing is? I didn't even watch that yet! I cracked it before I had a chance." Yosuke laughed.

"What?!" Chie exclaimed as she drew back to look Yosuke in the eye. "You haven't seen the _greatest movie _in the history of the world?!"

"Nope, not yet," Yosuke admitted.

"We're gonna have to watch in soon in that case."

Still not wanting to get up, they decided to spend a few more minutes lazing in their seats. Unexpectedly, they saw a familiar face staring back at them from across the restaurant.

"Son of a…." Yosuke chided, recognizing the face of the mysterious student rep. "Look who it is Chie!"

"Arg. What's that jerk doing here?" Chie sneered as she sharpened her stare.

"I dunno. I'd say he's getting something to eat, but he's just…sitting there."

"Yeah, well why is he staring right at us like that?!"

"I don't know that either," Yosuke remarked.

Chie locked eyes with the rep, inadvertently triggering a staring standoff. After a few moments, she had had enough.

"What?!" she called loudly across the restaurant.

The rep smirked in response.

With a nudge from Yosuke, Chie came back to reality and saw that some of the staff were staring are her strangely due to her outburst.

"I think it's time to get out of here," Yosuke suggested.

Chie didn't object. They forced themselves to their feet and left. The rep continued to watch them as the exited.

"What a weirdo!" Chie complained.

"Yeah, let's just forget about that guy," Yosuke pleaded. "Let's go for a scooter ride. I don't feel like going home yet."

Chie agreed to the suggestion and they began walking the short distance to the scooter.

The hum of another vehicle echoed over the hill in front of them. In a flash of speed, a scooter carrying two passengers whipped past them and out of sight.

"Hey, I think that was Yuu and Yukiko," Yosuke noted. "Where the heck is he going at that speed? I didn't know these things could even go that fast!"

"Should we go see what they're up to?" Chie asked.

"Nah, we'll hear about it tomorrow I'm sure," Yosuke answered as he continued walking to his scooter.

* * *

The two drove around town for a good while. Yosuke used the time to observe the many places he had neglected to visit of a long time. The shrine, the flood plain, the view of the town from the cliffs. All of the places he was sure he wouldn't have the time to visit anymore.

As they drove through town together, Chie explained all the great things about 'Trial of the Dragon' and why it was the greatest movie of all time, in her opinion. Yosuke mostly listened, but made agreed again that they would watch the movie together at some point; when and if he was able to find the time.

When clouds began to shroud the sky and the sun started to arch, Yosuke realized it was time to face his fate. He set course for Chie's house to drop her off.

As they arrived at Chie's house, both knew that their date was coming to an end, and nervously anticipated what that was supposed to bring; a good night kiss. Their first real kiss, should it happen. Both of them attempted to stall, saying anything that came to mind in hopes that the other would make the first move.

"It was fun hanging out with you. Ya know, it's nice when I get to see the side of you that isn't a jerk-face!"

"Oh, gee, thanks," Yosuke answered.

"But honestly, thanks for picking me up."

"Thanks for coming out with me."

"Thanks for paying for the beef bowl."

"Thanks for keeping my mind off of cram school, even for a few hours."

"Thanks for not saying anything while I pigged out!"

Recapturing the moment they shared on the rooftop proved difficult. On the rooftop, the emotion of the moment had made things flow very naturally. Now, both of them felt like the eyes of the world were upon them, demanding that they finish where they left off.

When a brief silence came between them, Yosuke summoned all his courage.

"_I guess it's now or never_…" he thought to himself.

"Well, good night Chie," he said softly as he leaned toward her.

When it was over, Yosuke was sure it didn't look like the seamless, perfect kisses shared by people in movies or on TV. It certainly didn't _feel _seamless. It was all so unfamiliar and for that reason, awkward.

Neither was sure which direction to tilt their head, and they nearly cracked their skulls together due to that oversight.

As their lips closed, their teeth briefly clanked together. They were both confident _that _wasn't supposed to happen.

And just _how much_ were they supposed to open their mouths. Was it even supposed to be an open mouth kiss? A few seconds in, and they seemed to have reached an equilibrium.

As the kiss drew on, both were so concerned with their inexperience showing through that they found it difficult to find any pleasure in the act itself.

Yosuke finally drew away slowly, forcing himself not to sigh in self disappointment.

When their eyes met, both chuckled at their poor excuse for a kiss.

"I'll talk to you later Yosuke," Chie added. She stood on her toes and pecked him on the cheek before hopping to her front door.

Yosuke rubbed his cheek and smiled.

"Geez, a kiss on the cheek is so much easier! Why didn't she just do that in the first place?" he pondered.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Y'all catch what Narukami did? The reasons why will become clear by next chapter, if they aren't clear already!

And what's with that Rep? I've got a chapter explaining what his deal is just raring to go! That one should a bombshell.

As always, I LOVE feedback. Comments, suggestions, complaints, anything!

Next Chapter: The Perks of Being a Manwhore


	12. The Perks of Being a Manwhore

**Author's Note:** After a long break, I've finally pumped out another chapter. This chapter takes place at the same time as the last one. Some behind the scenes dealings will be revealed! As always, a kind word is appreciated in the review section. Chapter 13 is coming very soon by the way, it's 95% done already!

* * *

_Hello, dear reader. I'm surprised to see you back. I loath surprises. The idea of being completely in the dark about what's coming disgusts me. The Idea that I'm not in control, I can't accept it. Even as a child, I hated that idea. I wonder how Yosuke will feel about surprises after today._

The anticipation is killing us both. Yosuke and myself, I mean. Look at him, fidgeting uncontrollably. His leg is twitching and he's wrapping his fingers on his desk. He can barely contain himself. He's waiting for the bell to ring so he can claim his report card.

What would he say if he found out that I changed his grades? He'd be mad, I know. But I'd talk to him, and he would understand in the end. It's for the greater good after all

When Kashiwagi finally calls his name he makes a scene, but manages to get his report card. He wears a huge smile on his face. This may be the last time he smiles like that for a long time.

When he open the envelope, he must feel like his world is spinning.

He tells Kashiwagi that she made a mistake, but she won't have any of that.

The truth begins to set in with Yosuke. He starts making odd sounds. I leap to my feet to assist him, and my friends follow suit.

Yosuke has gone completely limp. I snap my finders in front of his face but he doesn't respond at all.

Chie nudges him, but he's completely oblivious. She fires me a concerned look.

"I think he's gone catatonic! Maybe we should call the school nurse," she cries.

Yosuke babbles something, but I can't clearly make out what he's trying to say.

Before long, Kashiwagi is telling us all to scram. I wave Yukiko over and we lift Yosuke to his feet. We're forced to guide him out of the class and down the hallway toward the main doors. It's only when we step outside that any sort of awareness reappears in his eyes. Yukiko and I release his arms and are happy when he doesn't fall on his face.

He begins lumbering away like a zombie, swaying back and forth with each stride. Chie and Yukiko are in complete shock at what they are witnessing. Of course, I put on a surprised face to match. Appearances are important.

Chie cusps her hands over her mouth. Her eyes are wavering, and in them I recognize a truth that I hadn't before. It's a look of love. I should be able to use this to my advantage

"Should we, you know, go after him?" Chie asks.

"I think he wants to be alone right now. We should let him go." I respond.

"Poor Yosuke," Yukiko adds. "I can't believe he bombed Kashiwagi's class that hard. Where did he go wrong? He was so confident that he'd ace everything."

We all gaze at Yosuke as he gets smaller and smaller in the distance. The girls don't seem to know what more to say.

"Chie, I'm worried about him. I've never seen him like this before," I divulge solemnly.

"Me either. I'm worried too," she confides, her voice trembling with concern. "He's zoned right out. It might take some serious work to get him to snap out of this one."

"Got any ideas how we can do that?" I ask, firing Chie a suggestive look which she interprets with panic.

"Wh-what? Why are ya lookin' at me like that when you ask that?" she stutters, as if she's been caught in the middle of a crime.

"Well, you know, because he'll listen to you, because he likes you," I state, not mincing my words.

Chie becomes tight lipped and looks flustered.

"And I'm pretty sure you like him too, Chie. So maybe you can find some time to talk to him, you know, _alone_?" I continue.

Chie begins an obligatory protest, much to my expectations.

"Hey! What are you talking about! Are you suggesting that we're an item or something?! Just because we get along doesn't mean we're _together_ or any of that stuff! You've got one wild imagination there pal!" she chirps.

I place my hands on my sides and sigh. "I didn't say any of that Chie. But, and I don't mean to eavesdrop, I did hear Yosuke more or less ask you out in class today."

Her entire body stiffens.

"And I'm pretty sure you happily accepted," I add.

"You….heard that?" she answers bashfully, casting her gaze toward her feet.

"Don't feel embarrassed about it Chie. To be honest, you two kind of deserve each other in my opinion. Yosuke's a great guy, and you're something special too," I explain.

"Well, thanks. But we're talking about _one date_ at this point, so don't go thinking that we're ready to get hitched or something crazy!" she pleads, waving her hands to dismiss any delusions that might be forming in my head.

"Well, do you think there is anything you can say to him to help him through this? I feel bad for him. First those Friends of Inaba clowns, now cram school, not to mention all the investigation stuff. It's only a matter of time before something gives. He's got to find a way to relieve some of that stress," I comment.

"Yeah, those Friends of Inaba jerks couldn't have picked a worse time to appear," Chie comments. "Did you notice how he was watching over his shoulder during lunch? They're going to drive him crazy with paranoia at this rate."

I cross my arms and nod in agreement. "I feel a bit guilty about asking him to put up with those guys just to win this election," I confess.

Chie turns to face me, with a pensive look in her eyes.

"If he didn't have to deal with those shopping district jerks, I think he'd be way less stressed," she says. "I think I know how to help him. I'll talk to him about it later today."

Chie begins walking away slowly. Neither me or Yukiko say anything to her as she departs.

"So…..Chie and Yosuke? Is that going to be a thing now?" Yukiko asks, perplexed by what just unfolded.

"Looks like it," I chuckle. "But it's not really surprising, is it?"

"Not really," Yukiko affirms.

As Chie continues down the road to her house, it's time for me to make my next move. I need to have an important conversation with Yukiko. With Yosuke soon on his way to cram school, he'll be forced to withdraw from the campaign. With any luck, Chie will suggest he do so while they are out on their date. I tried to hint to Chie that she should ask him to do just that, and it looks like she just took the bait. It'll look like they came up with the idea themselves! With Yosuke out of the campaign, I'll have an empty spot on the roster, which I intend to fill with Yukiko. I'll be killing two birds with one stone.

With Yukiko, Chie and Rise on my team, this election is as good as over. I'll have the support of the two most sought after girls in school, as well as the reluctant hero of the Friends of Inaba, who control a significant portion of the student vote. Provided, of course, that I can get Yukiko to take Yosuke's place and abandon her own bid for President. I think I'll be able to manage. I know what sort of carrots to dangle in front of her to get her attention.

I turn toward Yukiko. "Well, those two are going to be busy today, so there go my plans. Do you feel like hanging out later? It feels like it's been a while since we did anything outside of school." I ask

"I'd love to," she answers without hesitation.

"Fantastic! I'm going to run home first and change. How about I come by your place in an hour or two and we can figure out something fun to do?"

"That sounds wonderful," she cheers, "I guess I better hurry home and get ready too. There are a few chores I've got to take care of, no doubt. Such is life at the Amagi Inn!"

Yukiko and I say goodbye and head in opposite directions. I'll spend the next few hours planning exactly what to say to her. However, before I make it past the school gates, someone grabs my arm from behind.

"Senpai!" someone calls jovially.

The voice alone tells me that it's Rise. Rather than struggle to escape, I accept that she's got me. I can't go brining bridges with her either. I need her continued support after all.

"Hey Rise, are you on your way home?" I question.

"Uh huh!" she cheers with a warm smile. When she smiles, it always strikes me as genuine. I admire that.

She tucks an arm underneath mine and draws herself close to me.

"Want to walk me home?" she asks.

"I'd be delighted to," I answer.

"Yay!" she beams, "You're so nice to me Senpai!"

"That's what friends are for," I remind her.

She pulls herself even closer to me. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she whimpers as she snuggles into my shoulder. Before we step through the front gate, we are stopped yet again.

"Excuse me, Senpai," another female voice rings.

With Rise still clinging to me, I turn around and find Naoto.

"Hey, what's up Naoto," I greet.

She draws a long breath while her eyes shift left to right as if she's scanning the scene for something.

"I need to talk to you," she answers, her eyes still alert.

"Sure, what do you want to talk about?" I respond.

"It's not something to discuss here. We should go somewhere private," she answers mysteriously.

Now Rise speaks up. "Ooo, Naoto, do you have the hots for Senpai? Are you trying to ask him out?" she teases.

"Wh-what? No! What are you talking about? Just….forget it. I'll call you about it later," Naoto stammers, before abruptly spinning around and walking away with her hands tucked into her pockets and her head lowered.

"Oooo, I think she likes you Senpai," Rise continues. I think Rise feels a little threatened, to be honest.

"I don't think that's what she wanted to talk about Rise," I inform.

"Well, that's good news for the rest of us ladies," she chirps happily. "That means you're still on the market, huh?"

I look her in the eye before answering. "Yeah," I assure with a smile.

She can't contain herself. A huge smile creeps across her face and she blushes a deep red. Her arm continues to tighten around mine.

The school fades into the distance and out of sight as we quietly walk arm in arm.

"So, what do you need help with anyway?" I ask after a few minutes.

"Hmm. Well, I've made a big decision. I'm looking for some advice to make sure it all works out," she replies cryptically.

"Big decision? Care to elaborate?" I ask.

"Well…I've been thinking about my career. The time off has been great and all, but there are some things that I miss about it. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of things that I still hate about it, but I've decided to take on a little project. It's only a small thing, just to see if I'm still interested in it," she answers, getting to the truth of the matter.

"What kind of project?" I inquire.

"It's just a little photo shoot, but I'm trying to run the whole thing myself. I don't want to deal with a bunch of managers and PR people telling me how things should be, and how I should act."

"I see," I reply.

"Yeah! I'm hoping you can help me pick out some looks before I contact the photographer. A second opinion from someone I trust will make me feel a whole bunch more confident about this thing,"

"I hope I can help, but I'm not really that knowledgeable about fashion Rise," I reply. I've got to be honest with her, after all.

She flashes an intense smile at my response. "I just need you to be honest….like you always are," she says tenderly.

We continue walking silently until we reach Rise's house.

"_That_, I can do," I answer. The hypocrisy of the statement is not lost on me.

* * *

When we arrive at Rise's house, the door is front door is locked. She fishes her key from her school uniform. It takes several jiggles before the door unlocks and swings open.

"Come on in," she says with an inviting wave of her hand.

We climb the stairs to the second floor, and I take note of the black and white photos on the walls. Most of the men in the photos are in military uniforms. This is Rise's grandmother's house after all. These are lost relative perhaps.

At the top of the staircase, we veer to the right and down a hallway. At the end of the hall is a sliding door, which Rise nudges open smoothly. We step inside her room, and it's much like I'd imagined it. It's cozy and warm much like she is, and there are endless arrays of clothing. A large walk in closet is home to row upon row of tops, with shoes adjourning the many shelves. Several long dressers line the walls. I suspect that each drawer is ready to burst. The room is a little cluttered, but not what I'd call messy.

"I shoulda cleaned up first," she giggles, "it's such a mess in here."

"Hey, this is cleaner than my room has _ever_ been," I insist.

She giggles once more. "You always know what to say to make me laugh, Senpai,"

In the corner of the room stands a folding screen, with a pieces of clothing draped over the top. The panels are milky white, only lightly decorated in a floral theme along the bottom. Light shines faintly through the rectangle panels or the screen. I gather that this would allow the silhouette of anyone on the other side to dance on the screen.

"Wow, you've got so many outfits," I note. "Sometimes it feels as if I only own this one shirt."

"A lot of it I got from different movies and commercials and whatnot," Rise explains with a sigh. "Everyone always wanted to give me free stuff back then. Whenever I did a job, it felt like I was showered with products."

"That sounds like a pretty good deal to me," I confess.

"Sometimes, it was the last thing I needed. Sometimes, I just wanted someone to acknowledge _me_, and not reduce everything to materialism. You know, often I just needed someone to say 'Good _job Rise, you knocked it out of the park_' or '_I enjoyed working with you Rise_.' Honestly, people rarely even acknowledged that I was a person. They'd get their shots, and then dumped all this promotional stuff on me. That part of it felt so hollow. I want to be a person, not a commercial."

I'm at a loss for words. Rise rarely opens up in this way.

"But don't worry Senpai! I'm not gonna ask you to watch me try on _everything! _I have a couple of outfits in mind," she explains.

"How many are we talking about?" I ask.

"I've got three that I'm hoping you can give me some feedback on. You can take a seat in that chair while I get ready. I won't be long," she explains.

I place myself in the seat that faces that screen as she instructs.

"Alright, whatever I can do to help," I announce.

"It's going to be a swimsuit shoot by the way, Senpai," she reveals slyly.

It takes a moment for those words to register, but when they do, I begin to comprehend the situation I just walked into.

Rise.

Swimsuits.

Alone.

Bedroom.

Those few words allow me to imagine endless permutations of where this situation may lead.

Rise steps behind the screen, and her shadowy silhouette appears on the panels. She pulls her shirt over head slowly, and then drapes it over the screen. I watch closely she reaches behind her back and unclasps her bra, which also ends up slung over the screen. It's pink. Go figure. By reflex alone, I squeeze the arms of the chair as tight as I can.

Still behind the screen and facing away from me, I watch her shadow intently as she bends over and slowly drags her underwear down her legs. When she steps out of them, she lets out a faint giggle. In response, I let out a grunt. I'm only human, after all.

She seems intent on taking her time, completely bare behind the screen. She's in no hurry to put on the first of the outfits. She motions back and forth for what feels like a lifetime, and even pirouettes once. Placing her hands on her hips, she runs them up the contours of her body. Her hands closely hug her sides and then trace the delicate outline of her neck. Finally, her hands come to her head and she lets her hair down in a single fluid motion. Her hair falls over her shoulders, and although I can only see her shadow dance across the screen, I have no trouble imagining how she looks.

_Something just occurred to me, dear reader. This isn't an accident. She's spent a long time planning this. It's so intricately set up. The chair, the light, the choice of attire, the way the screen is arranged. This isn't a bed room, it's a stage. She's trying to lay claim to me. Rise's showing me a side I didn't know she had. It appears I'm not the only one with secrets. Surprise._

"Okay, first one," she announces playfully.

One of the garbs slung over the screen slips out of view. I force myself not to blink.

I watch her shadow closely as she wraps one piece around her waist. She places a second piece over her chest, and then strikes a pose with her hands on her side and her hip flared out.

"Alright, tell me what you think," she instructs as she steps into sight.

It's an unusual sort of swimsuit, if it can even be called that. The lower half is almost like an uneven mini-skirt, with the fabric on the right leg extending well past her knee. The pattern is orange and floral, giving it a tropical vibe. The curved shape reminds me of a tulip petal. The top is somewhat refined when compared to the exhibition I just witnessed. It hangs over her chest loosely, and doesn't reveal much of anything. I don't care for it at all.

"It looks good Rise," I critique, nodding the whole time in approval. "It's very unique! What do you think about it?"

"Aww, thanks sweetie," she says playfully. "I agree with you, it's unique. That's why I picked this one. It's not really very functional though. I wouldn't ever want to _swim_ in this, that's for sure. I think I'll use this as one of the pieces in my shoot, all the same! Thanks!"

Without more conversation, she darts back behind the screen. Once again her shadow graces the white panels. My heart beats fast as she quickly removes the first swimsuit. She's standing back there with nothing on once again. She tosses the top over the screen and it lands at my feet. Suddenly, my collar isn't the only thing that's _popped_.

As she pulls the next outfit from its resting place atop the screen, I notice that it's a one piece bathing suit. She steps into it gracefully, as if she's done it a million times before. She slides it up her body, and even through the screen I can see how closely it hugs her skin. She pulls the straps over her shoulders and releases them, and it snaps loudly on her skin. She of course giggles at this.

"Alright! Here's number two Senpai," she announces as she reappears.

I was right about it being a tight fit. It's like a second skin. Her legs are totally bare up to her hips. The swimsuit hugs the curves of her torso and rises up to her chest. When my eyes settle there, I almost snort again. There is a lot of skin showing.

"My eyes are up here Senpai," she chirps.

I avert my gaze at lightning speed, and my eyes meet hers. She wears a devious smirk like I've never seen before. She's definitely having fun with me. She refuses to break eye contact, she simply continues to stare on with a hungry expression.

"This one is…umm…." I begin. "It's..um….very nice."

_It's not like me to struggle over words, dear reader, but in this game, I've been caught totally of guard. This is why I hate surprises. I don't like to have the weaker hand. I play to win. It's time for me to formulate a game plan here. I can't show weakness._

"That is one of my favourites," she says as she steps behind the screen once more. "And I _love _to swim in it. I feel so free in it. Actually, it's the next best thing to skinny dipping."

"Is that so?" I reply.

"Uh huh! Have you ever been skinny dipping Senpai?" she inquires, her voice smooth as velvet.

"Um, no," I reply in monotone.

"Aww, why not? It's sooo invigorating, and it's so refreshing too!"

"I guess I don't know of any lakes or springs where I can be alone," I answer.

"And who said you need to do it _alone," _her voice echoes from behind the screen.

Hint taken.

I find no words to offer in reply, so I sit patently and wait for outfit number three to adorn her. Whatever is next, it's much smaller than the last. I can barely see anything in her hands, but she seems to be putting on a bottom and a top. It's definitely a two piece bikini. I brace myself.

"Are you ready Senpai?" she calls out.

"Yeah, whenever you are, Rise," I answer.

"Okay. This one is the grande finale, the crème de la crop, so let me know what you _really _think."

"Always," I reply

She emerges from her hideout, and I struggle to stay in my seat. This one is the most revealing by far. It's a two piece, as I deduced. The top _must _be a size or two too small, because it squeezes her chest tightly, making her bust appear huge. In fact, the top barely covers her chest at all. Tiny strings are tied around her neck to hold it in place. I wonder if those strings are going to be strong enough, because it looks like she's ready to pop out of it. With each step she takes, the bouncing seems to intensify. My hands tighten on the arms of my chair once again.

The bottom half is revealing in the same fashion as the top. Too little fabric, and only a tiny string holding it together. She spins around once and if she's on the catwalk, and only then do I realize that the bottom is actually a g-string. The image I behold as she spins will be ingrained in my memory and savoured forever.

"You look very…." I start," very…." I can't seem to choose the correct word.

"Sexy?" she asks slyly. Her eyes lock with mine and that familiar devious smirk reappears.

"Yeah…..sexy," I reply, my body glued to my chair.

She takes a step toward me and I feel every capillary in my body fill with blood. Almost instantly, I'm sweating. She takes another step toward me, and my heart rate instantaneously leaps ten-fold,

When she's nearly upon me, she extends her arm and places her hand on my head and runs her fingers through my hair.

"Yuu….it means a lot to me that you're willing to help," she says, barely above a whisper.

She runs her index finger down my neck and across my shoulder. She slowly traces her way down my arm. Her finger tracks its way past my forearm and reaches my hand, where her fingers brush my own. My arm lifts, and she seems to pull me from my seat through magnetism.

_Now, I'm not normally one to blush, dear reader, but right now I must look flustered. Rise Kujikawa is standing three inches from me in what can barely be classified as clothing. I'm at a loss for words, and for the first time in a long time, at a loss for actions._

"Thank you," she says once more, her mouth mere centimeters from my ear. She wraps her arms around me in a warm embrace, and I do the same for her. My hands settle on her lower back, which is totally bare. I bite my lip fiercely. This is a most unexpected turn of events.

Her breath tickles my ear. I recognize the sound of deep seeded desire with each deep breath she takes.

When she takes a step back, I'm caught off guard. I was certain she was going to take things further in the other direction. She smiles gently, and grabs a white robe that was resting on her bed. She slips into it without turning away from me. Now dressed somewhat more modestly, she approaches me again.

"Thanks again," she says, giving me another hug She presses her lips gently against my cheek. Although simply a kiss on the cheek, it's passionate and warm. She draws her head back so we're face to face.

_I stand at a crossroads, dear reader. She's been in control since I walked into this room, but now she's signalling that it's time for me to take the lead. Decisions, decisions. What would you do, dear reader?_

"Rise," her name jumps from my lips as my hand gently grazes her cheek. Her eyes quiver wildly.

To my surprise, she seamlessly closes the gap between our lips and draws me into a loving kiss. We fall backward weightlessly, landing softly on her bed.

* * *

When I leave Rise's house, I literally hit the ground running. I had intended to spend the afternoon with Yukiko, but ended up spending a long time with Rise. I must sound selfish. That's not something that most people would complain about. Besides, what just transpired will help maintain Rise's support for my campaign, so it wasn't a waste of time. Yet, the real issue at hand it getting Yukiko to cooperate. I'm not late yet, but I've got to hurry or she's going to think I blew her off.

I arrive at my house and dart up the stairs. Dojima and Nanako are sitting in the kitchen, and Dojima pivots his head in surprise and annoyance as I roll in like thunder. I wave hello, but fly up the stairs before either of them can get a word in.

I basically rip my school uniform off in mid air and land in my regular clothes. I scoop up my scooter helmet and head back downstairs, cell phone in hand. I punch in Yukiko's number, and she answers just as I land on the seat of my scooter.

"Hello!," she answers cheerfully. I can't help but think she's been waiting by her phone all day for me to call.

"Hey, I'm about to come over. Are you ready to go?"

"Uh huh! I'll be waiting outside the Inn for you!" she answers enthusiastically.

Perfect, it looks like I'm not running behind schedule. I turn the keys and my scooter comes to life. I rev the engine and pick up speed on my way towards the Amagi Inn.

Yukiko is waiting for me as promised, with her helmet in her hand. I pull up to her and fire a smile. Her eyes glisten nervously.

"I'm sorry, I forgot to mention that my scooter has been acting up the last couple of days. If we're going to go into town, could I double with you?" she asks apologetically.

"Of course!" I insist.

"Thank you so much," she says with a petite bow of gratitude. "I'm sorry that I didn't mention it on the phone."

"It's not a problem. Besides, if we only take one scooter, we can call it our way to reduce global warming," I suggest dryly.

She giggles like a little girl.

"Hop on," I instruct, and slide forward in my seat to give her some extra room.

She skips toward me. Before mounting up, she puts on her helmet.

"Safety first!" she insists as she clasps the chin strap.

She carefully climbs on the scooter, placing a hand on my shoulder for support. When she's seated, she inadvertently slides down the uneven seat and presses warmly against my back.

"Hold on tight," I insist.

Her hands navigate from my shoulders and find their way around my waist. I can feel her trembling. I catch her face in my right mirror, and she's red as can be. I chuckle to myself.

When I apply the throttle we take off with a jolt. Yukiko almost falls backwards, which forces her to tighten her arms around me. When I told her to hang on tight, I meant it.

"So where should be go?" I ask once we're on the main road.

"Can we just drive around for a bit?" she asks.

"Sure thing," I answer.

"Oh, guess what!" she exclaims.

"What?" I reply

"Chie and Yosuke are on a date, _right now!"_ she announces, giddy about breaking this news to me.

"Right now? How do you know?"

"Chie's been texting me. You know, live updates and all that stuff? She's becoming quite the social media butterfly!"

"So, what's the latest from the love birds?" I ask sarcastically.

After laughing for sometime at that remark, Yukiko responds.

"Well, they're going to Aiya for some food," she informs.

"They'll probably get a beef bowl," I reply with certainty.

"Probably," Yukiko concurs.

We come to a long hill that leads to the banks that overlook the town. As we drive up, I slow the scooter down. We both take the time to enjoy the view of Inaba as we climb.

"You can see everything from up here," Yukiko notices once we reach the crest of the hill.

"Yeah. I come up here when I need to put things into perspective." I insist.

"What do you mean?" she inquires.

"From up here, I can see everything that's important to me. See, there's Dojima's house, and over there is Yasogami High, the place where I met all of you," I explain while I point out each location.

"There's the shrine, and there's the flood plain, and even the world famous Amagi Inn. You can even see Aiya clearly. And we know that Chie and Yosuke are there right now. The way I see it, everyone and everything that's important to me…. it's all right here."

"I just got another message from Chie," Yukiko proclaims as she flips her phone open.

"Did they kiss yet?" I tease.

She snickers, but contains herself.

"Hmm. It looks like Yosuke is going withdraw from the election. It's going to be too much with cram school in the equation. Poor Yosuke," she laments.

Inside, I am dancing. My plan has gone off without a hitch thus far. The next step can now proceed unhindered.

"Damn, that could be bad for the rest of the student body. Don't get me wrong, I can't blame Yosuke for making the decision, it's probably the smart thing to do. But without him running for treasurer, the old student council might be able to win. And if they're still in control of how the council money is spent, we're not going to solve this problem."

"You care so much about everyone Yuu" Yukiko says tenderly, "That's why I love you…..NO!...I mean, that's what I love _about_ you!"

Unabridged embarrassment appears on Yukiko's face as she tries to correct her words.

"I..um…did I just say that…" she mutters to herself, her hands trembling. By the looks of it, she's on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

I offer her an understanding smile

"Do you know what I love about you Yukiko?" I speak calmly

She seems to calm down in anticipation of what I will say next.

"….what?" she asks in a meek voice and eyes full of nervous anticipation.

"Everything," I answer.

With wide, unblinking eyes she stands silently. Her lower lip begins to tremble and she bites it in response. I think I caused a meltdown in her heart.

"Why don't we follow Chie and Yosuke's lead and call this a date?" I suggest.

"…A date? ….really?," she says meekly, but clearly enamoured with how things unfolded on this hill.

"Yeah! Why not! We like each other, right? We can go on a date to see if there's anything more, can't we?" I ask.

"Umm….yeah," she agrees. "Wait…so….._you_ like _me_?"

I nod several times.

"I…like you to..," she finally admits, not that it's news to me.

"So, now that it's a date, where should be go next?" I inquire.

"How about we just stay here for a little bit longer," she answers. "It's a nice place, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it really is," I agree.

"I never thought of the view from up here the way you do. But I think that's a beautiful way to look at it," she says as she gazes over Inaba.

She stares over the town while me eyes rest on her.

"You know, I'm worried that you might be right about the election," she says.

"What do you mean?"

"About the whole thing being futile if the old council wins the treasurers spot."

"Yeah, that won't be good, that's for sure."

"Hmmmm," she drones as she shifts her attention back to the town.

"Yosuke was a good fit for the position. With his management experience, and because his family is involved with a big company, he could legitimately claim that he had business experience and was qualified for the responsibility," I explain.

Yukiko licks her lips, and then she swivels her head and meet my eyes. "I have business experience too," she remarks.

I remain silent.

"At the inn, I do all kinds of things. A lot of the time I do the behind the scenes stuff like cleaning, but I tend to the guests as well. Sometimes I help take payments, and even help with the accounting too. I've got really diverse responsibilities, to be honest."

I tilt me head quizzically, but refrain from suggesting what's on her mind. I'll let her reach the conclusion herself.

"Yuu…maybe I should run in place of Yosuke. I mean, I _do_ have the experience. And we _can't _afford to lose."

"But don't you want to run for President?" I question.

Yukiko seems to cower a bit, and rubs her left arm nervously with her opposite hand.

"I…I..only decided to take part at all because I …have a big crush on you and thought it might be a smart way for us to get closer," she admits, clearly having difficulty forcing the words out.

"But, I don't think I need to do it for that reason anymore. I'll run in the election in order to help the student body!" she announces triumphantly.

"So, starting tomorrow I'll run for Treasurer instead. With you, me and Chie working together, who will be able to stop us?"

"Nobody," I confirm.

"Nobody," she repeats.

* * *

We spend another hour on the hill, but don't spend any more time talking about the election. Dusk comes faster than we expected, so we decide to call it a day.

We speed off upon my scooter, and I give full throttle. Going downhill, I'm able to exceed normal speeds.

We zoom through town, and we're soon coming upon Aiya. In the blink of an eye, we rocket past, but I notice Chie and Yosuke exiting.

"I wonder if they had a good time," Yukiko screams over deafening wind.

"If there was meat involved, I know Chie had a good time," I joke.

Even after we've slowed down, Yukiko clings to me tightly. The nervous trembling that was there before is gone. She only wants to hold onto me.

"I'm sorry about what I said earlier. It kind of just slipped out. It's so embarrassing," she apologizes, pushing her face into my back and pulling at my shirt.

"Don't be sorry. If you didn't put your foot in your mouth, maybe I would never felt brave enough to ask you to go on a date," I comfort her.

"It sounds weird to think that was a date," she says with her eyes to the ground.

I park out of sight from the inn so we can escape any prying eyes. We hop off the scooter and face each other.

Yukiko removes her helmet, and reveals that her hair is matted and tangled. She brushes a few strands away from her mouth.

"Gosh, talk about a bad hair day," she moans while attempting to straighten her hair.

I reach out to her and brush a few strands away from her eyes. I feel her temperature rise, She's on fire.

Ever so faintly, Yukiko puckers her lips. She peeks over her shoulder, and then turns back to me. Confident that nobody is watching, she takes one giant leap forward and plants a kiss on my lips.

"Thanks for a wonderful time," she says before skipping home without looking back.

As she rounds the corner to the inn, I consider how different Yukiko's lips taste from Rise's.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I hope this chapter wasn't too long. Another chapter is almost cooked up, so expect that in a few days. You might see some other characters get some screen time going forward. So, for or any fans of Kanji, Naoto and possibly Teddie, stay tuned!


	13. True Detective (Prince)

Author's Note: Two chapters in two days. Well, not really. I wrote this one about six weeks ago but needed to write the previous chapter before I got to this point. I hope you guys like this one. Naoto fans rejoice! She's finally doing something in my story!

* * *

Moonlight sporadically pierced the clouds that blanketed the sky, the brief moments of illumination disrupting an otherwise black night. Such moments would allow a traveller to navigate the shadows.

While the light and darkness fought in the sky, Naoto paced in her room. For more than an hour she'd been walking back and forth, and was beginning to wear a crease into the floor

She was tense with worry. In keeping her promise to Yosuke to look out for 'suspicious behavior,' at school, she'd uncovered something that was eating away at her.

After much contemplation, she had resolved to share the information with Narukami. She had attempted to discuss the issue with him afterschool, but the setting was inappropriate. She spent the last few hours reviewing the information over and over in her head. She wanted to make sure she could explain in logically so it would make sense. At last, she picked up her phone, located Narukami in her contacts and hit dial, hoping he wasn't already in bed.

Naoto was relieved when he answered after only two rings.

"Hey Naoto, what's up?" he greeted, sounding fully alert despite the late hour.

"Narukami, are you able to talk?" she answered.

"Um, yeah….oh that's right, you wanted to talk about something after school. What is it?" he recalled.

"Something important," Naoto confirmed, and then went silent.

"Is something wrong?" Yuu questioned.

"You could say that," Naoto began. "I'm fine, don't misunderstand me, but something strange is happening at school."

"Strange? What do you mean?"

"Narukami, do yourself a favour and sit down. I've got a lot to say, and it might be overwhelming and somewhat muddled."

"If you say so," he responded obediently.

"Are you alone?" she asked.

"Um, yeah. I'm by myself in my room," he confirmed.

"Good. Make sure the door is shut and locked."

'Okay," Yuu replied.

"Alright, I'm going to start from the very beginning. A few days ago, Yosuke asked me to watch out for suspicious activity at school. More specifically, he wanted me to keep an eye on that student representative that you had an encounter with last week."

"Yeah, we figured there was something strange going on at student council. All of the clubs keeping getting cancelled for no good reason, even though the student council is pretty well funded," Yuu elaborated.

"That hunch was accurate, to say the least. I told Yosuke I would talk to the representative. I did so the next day, and I was immediately struck by his rudeness. I inquired about the reasons behind the cancellation of student clubs and the spending of student funds, but he was uncooperative. He only offered snide remarks. He wouldn't even tell me his name," Naoto recounted.

"Come to think of it, we don't know his name either," noted Yuu.

"That is not surprising. My conversation with him left me very suspicious that he was hiding something. Naturally, I wanted to investigate further. My first objective was to figure out his identity, so I approached students from different classes with the hopes that someone knew his name. Over and over, I ran into the same dead end. Nobody could confirm that he was in their class, and nobody seemed to know his name. In fact, most students had no idea who I was even talking about."

Naoto paused and drew a deep breath.

"By the end of the day, I had visited every single class, and spoken with dozens of students. As far as I could determine, he isn't actually part of any class at Yasogami High."

"Does that mean he is he skipping class?"

"No. What I mean is that he quite literally doesn't belong to any class. Essentially, he isn't really a student," Naoto clarified. "When this became hard to deny, I decided to see if he had student file, or records of registration. I was able to find a file with his photo attached in the student databank. It seems that he is registered as a student, but he has no homeroom assigned and the school has no records of a birth date, home address or phone number. And of course, there was no name on his file. I only recognized him from his photo."

"How did you get into the school registration databank? Shouldn't that be, you know, under lock and key?" Yuu questioned.

Naoto drew another breath. "Don't worry about that right now. The details are not important. Just know that I have my ways."

Yuu decided not to question the issue any further.

"Anyway, all of this raised alarm bells in my mind. When I looked further into his file, I was astounded to see that his grades are flawless. He has straight A's in everything. And I mean everything, even classes that haven't even been offered over the last few years. I had to ask myself, how does a person who doesn't appear to be part of any class earn the highest grades, by far, in the school?"

Yuu was dumfounded. "I dunno," he replied.

"Well, it all started to come together when I noticed that his file recommended him for a number of scholarships. I investigated these scholarships online, and luckily the websites maintain pictures of the past winners. I scanned through the list of previous winners diligently, and eventually I came across a picture of our mystery representative, holding a gigantic novelty check for $25,000."

"Does that mean we know who he is?" Yuu exclaimed happily.

"Unfortunately, no," Naoto replied. "The photo in question was dated from two year ago, but he is identified as a 3rd year high school student."

"What? Shouldn't that mean he graduated two years ago?" Yuu blasted.

"Exactly," she confirmed. "At that point, I knew his activity was fraudulent, so I thoroughly investigated other scholarships that offer unconditional cash awards and the schools they were awarded to. Within our region, I learned that seventeen schools received a disproportionate amount of scholarship money over the last three years, about seven times more money than the average school. When I examined the registration photos at these schools I found he was registered at them all, but _always_ under a different name. He's registered at multiple schools at once, and at every school his grades are, without exception, flawless."

"So he's stealing scholarship money?" Yuu inquired.

"That's right. My theory is that the schools falsify his registration, inflate his grades to impossibly high standards and then submit his name for giant scholarships. Perhaps the schools are even taking a cut," Naoto explained calmly.

"So, shouldn't you be calling the police, and not me?" Yuu suggested.

"Not yet, Narukami. I'm afraid this conspiracy may go far deeper yet. I'm not ready to expose what I know until I understand the threat more fully."

"What else is there to know?" Yuu pondered.

"Somebody inside the school administration must be aware of this. Someone must be helping falsify his grades, and must have helped him forge his registration documents. The vague way that the records are kept also suggests that they are attempting to shroud their misdoings."

"Who do you think might be helping him?" Yuu asked.

"It's too early to say. It could be teacher. It could be anyone working as part of the administration, such as the principal."

"Well at least we know to keep our guard up," Yuu commented.

"That's the least worrisome part, however. Yosuke also told me that that he and Chie observed the rep meeting with a board member of the Kirijo Group, which owns Junes."

"Yeah, he mentioned that to me too. Do you think Junes has something to do with this?"

"I'm not sure if it's in an official capacity, but I think someone at either Junes or Kirijo is involved. Why else would he meet with some of the higher-ups of a multinational company and be afforded such niceties?"

"I sense you have a hypothesis?"

"Yes, although it is incomplete, and still circumstantial. Whatever their connection, it surely involves the money."

"Would Junes or Kirijo really care about scholarship money? It seems like a lot to us, but they make billions, don't they?"

"Yes. However, if the amount of money he has conned in Inaba is reflective of an average, he has made 1.36 million in the seventeen schools I've linked him to thus far. Given the breadth of the conspiracy, it's reasonable to suspect he is embezzling money from other schools around the country."

"How many schools?"

Naoto paused for a moment to reflect.

"Theoretically? Dozens…hundreds…who knows." she replied.

Yuu nearly gasped as he tried computing the money potentially involved in such an enterprise. Without a calculator, it was pointless.

"It could be tens of millions, hundreds of millions, or more," Naoto replied firmly. "Keep in mind that those numbers are speculative at this point. But for Kirijo to have any use for him, it would need to be a significant figure.

Yuu paused. "There is one thing that doesn't make sense to me. If he is able to receive all of this money because he is the top student _on paper_, then why is he actually here? Why can't he just exist on paper? Isn't it riskier to have someone acting the part?"

"I considered that as well. My working theory is that he is a 'handler,' making sure the other players involved, like the ones we believe are present in Yasogami High, don't act out of line. I suspect whoever is truly in charge trusts him more than they trust their assets in the school system."

"If he has so much money, why the hell does he draw attention to himself by cancelling all of the student clubs?" Yuu asked with confusion.

"Maybe he's an egomaniacal sociopath. I don't truly have an answer for that part. Maybe he's just sloppy in some respects."

"Do you think he is dangerous?" Yuu asked cautiously.

"Yes, I think he is extremely dangerous. And for that reason, I want you to promise me you will not confront him or tell anyone else what I just told you; especially Yosuke. His family is too involved in Junes. One slip of the tongue could expose us. This information needs to stay between us."

Yuu was silent for a few seconds.

"Yuu, please, promise me," Naoto repeated.

"I promise. I won't do anything drastic and I'll keep my mouth shut," Yuu said resolutely.

"Thank you," Naoto said softly. She then said goodbye and ended the call, tossing her phone onto her desk. She turned to face a dark corner of her room, where the moonlight did not penetrate.

"Why didn't you let him know that you told all this to me already?" a voice called from the dark corner.

"Compartmentalization," Naoto responded.

"Huh?" the voice questioned from the shadows.

"It's a tactic used to prevent compromise of information. The less Narukami knows the better. That way, you won't be at risk if the conspirators realize that Narukami is aware of them. It's for protection. That's why I didn't tell him Kanji," she responded.

"So why did you tell me?" Kanji asked, now emerging from the dark corner.

"Because I need someone nearby that I can trust," she answered.

* * *

Well, it looks like the student council is more corrupt than anyone thought. I've been waiting a long time to release this chapter, as it's probably the more important one in terms of plot. I hope my little conspiracy makes sense. As Naoto was saying, it might sound a bit muddled. What do you guys think? Is this just getting silly or is it somewhat believable? Or perhaps I shouldn't be worried about silliness in a fanfiction based on a series about jumping into TV's? Lol, in any case, thanks for reading. It might be a while before the next installment unfortunately. The ideas for future chapters are still pretty rudimentary.


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